ROBERT    MORRIS 

PATRIOT  AND    FINANCIER 


ROBERT    MORRIS 


PATRIOT      AND      FINANCIER 


BY 


ELLIS    PAXSON    OBERHOLTZER,  PH.D. 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND    OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS 


B  R  A  tf  _ 

^e 

;::;SITY 


gork 
THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON  :  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1903 

Ail  rights  restrvid 


REESE 

c^  ••••/» 

COPYRIGHT,  1903, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  published  July,  1903. 


JCortaoali 

J.  8.  Cashing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  <k  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

THIS  biography  is  founded  for  the  most  part  upon  the 
valuable  Robert  Morris  papers,  which  were  recently  ac 
quired  by  the  Library  of  Congress  from  the  General  John 
Meredith  Read  estate,  and  which  now  repose  in  the 
Division  of  Manuscripts  of  that  library.  While  other 
material  in  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere  has  not  been  neg 
lected,  the  diaries  and  letter-books  in  their  old  leathern 
covers  at  Washington,  to  which  students  were  so  long 
denied  access,  must  always  be  the  principal  source  of  our 
information  concerning  the  life  of  this  neglected  patriot 
whose  services  to  the  nation  were  so  eminent.  Robert 
Morris  has  had  almost  no  other  biographer  than  Profes 
sor  Sumner,  and  his  work,  to  his  own  regret,  was  perforce 
compiled  without  consultation  with  General  Read's  papers, 
although  the  attempt  was  made  to  secure  the  latter's  con 
sent  to  their  use  in  that  behalf. 

These  sixteen  manuscript  volumes  have  been  the  sub 
ject  of  much  curious  legend.  Falling  to  some  of  the  heirs, 
they  had  a  checkered  history.  They  were  still  in  such 
hands  early  in  the  century  that  they  could  be  referred  to 
by  Jared  Sparks  when  he  prepared  the  "  Diplomatic  Cor 
respondence  of  the  American  Revolution."  Later  they 
marvellously  disappeared,  until  one  day  when  General 


-I  1  ft  .1  i 


vi  PREFACE 

Read  was  passing  through  a  French  country  town  he  dis 
covered  them,  it  is  said,  upon  a  rubbish  heap  ready  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  paper-mill.  Recognizing  their  value,  he 
took  them  to  his  home  in  Paris,  and  held  them  jealously 
for  a  great  price  which  he  was  unable  to  secure.  At  his 
death  they  were  offered  for  sale  to  several  American 
libraries,  and,  fortunately,  were  acquired  by  Congress, 
where  they  are  now  in  the  nation's  safe-keeping. 

Of  the  sixteen  volumes,  three  comprise  Mr.  Morris's 
official  Diary,  the  entries  extending  from  February  7, 
1781,  to  September  30,  1784,  embracing,  therefore,  his 
entire  term  of  office  as  Superintendent  of  Finance.  Vol 
umes  IV  to  X,  inclusive,  seven  volumes,  are  his  official 
letter-books,  into  which  his  clerks  at  the  Office  of  Finance 
transcribed  all  letters  on  public  matters  written  during 
his  term  of  service.  These  letters  begin  upon  March  13, 
1781,  and  end  only  with  his  retirement  from  the  post  on 
November  1,  1784.  The  next  three  volumes  are  private 
letter-books,  containing  copies  of  letters  written  at  a 
much  later  date,  from  December  22,  1794,  to  March  7, 
1798.  This  period  covers  the  time  of  his  accumulating 
business  difficulties,  his  siege  at  "  The  Hills,"  and  his  trans 
fer  from  his  beautiful  country  home  to  the  prison-house 
in  Prune  Street.  Many  insertions  in  the  last  of  these 
three  books  are  in  the  Financier's  own  handwriting,  and 
seem  to  have  been  made  at  his  leisure  in  his  cell.  Two 
supplementary  volumes  contain  official  copies  of  the  jour 
nals  of  Congress,  ordered  by  a  public  vote  of  that  body 
to  be  sent  to  the  Superintendent  for  his  information,  while 


PREFACE  vii 

a  third  is  a  transcript  of  the  accounts  rendered  to  Con 
gress  by  Beaumarchais.  In  the  official  letter-books  there 
are  copies  of  3024,  and  in  the  three  private  books  2702, 
letters,  a  total  of  5726,  not  more  than  250  of  which  have 
ever  been  printed.  Among  the  number  are  73  letters  to 
John  Jay,  63  to  Washington,  and  51  to  Franklin.  There 
are  letters,  indeed,  upon  the  most  important  subjects 
to  public  men  of  all  ranks,  —  congressmen,  governors, 
generals,  commissioners,  receivers,  —  the  record  throwing 
a  flood  of  new  light  upon  the  history  of  the  American 
Revolution. 

It   seems   reasonable  to  suppose    that  a  man  of  such 
methodical  business  habits  at  two  periods  of  his  career 
would  not  have  passed  the  rest  of  his  life  without  leaving 
a  record  of  his  correspondence,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that 
this  may  yet  be  found.     Considerable  biographical  mate 
rial  is  to-day  still  held  by  members  of  the  family  and 
is  inaccessible.      My  efforts  to  reach  the  Stuart  and  Pine 
portraits    have    been    vain.     The    information   at    hand 
regarding  Morris's  early  life  is  scant,  as  it  must  forever ( 
be,  a  fact  which  will  make  this  portion  of  my  biography 
seem  very  unsatisfactory.     His  birth  was  humble  and  his  \ 
parentage  obscure.   /  We  know  only  of  his  unremitting  / 
labors  for  his  country,  his  magnanimity,  patriotism,  and  • 
the  deep,  unselfish  love  he  bore  his  family  and  his  friends, 
—  a  good  and  great  prince  of  his  time, — whose  own  doing 
was,  and  is  in  memory  still,  a  daily  answer  to  the  asper 
sions  of  his  enemies.  } 


CONTENTS 

CUAPTEB 

I.    FROM  THE  OLD  WORLD  TO  THE  NEW 
II.    THE  MERCHANT  PRINCE  IN  CONGRESS 

III.  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  FINANCE         .... 

IV.  "PREACHING   TO    THE    DEAD"  .... 

V.  BORROWING  AND  RETURNING        .... 

VI.  SENATOR  MORRIS    .....•••  214 

VII.  His  ENEMIES 243^ 

VIII.  His  FAMILY  AND  HIS  FRIENDS 261 

IX.  His  HOUSES  AND  LANDS 291 

X.  EVENING  SHADES 314 

XI.  AFTER  SUNSET *  335 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 359 

INDEX  363 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PORTRAIT    OF    ROBERT    MORRIS,    AFTER    GILBERT    STUART. 

Photogravure „        Frontispiece 


FACING    PAGE 


SAVAGE'S  PORTRAIT  OF  ROBERT  MORRIS.     Photogravure        .  66 

"  THE  HILLS  ON  SCHUYLKILL  " 116 

MARY  MORRIS,  AFTER  TRUMBULL      ......  168 

THE  MORRIS  AND  WASHINGTON  HOMES  IN  HIGH  STREET      .  226 

MORRIS'S  " FOLLY" 298 

FAC-SIMILE  OF  A  LETTER   FROM   MR.  MORRIS   WRITTEN  ON 

THE  EVE  OF  HIS  IMPRISONMENT                   ....  346 


ROBERT  MORRIS:  PATRIOT  AND 
FINANCIER 

. 

CHAPTER   I 

FROM   THE   OLD   WORLD   TO  THE   NEW 

A  VESSEL  which  passed  in  at  the  Capes  and  up  the 
Chesapeake  to  drop  her  anchor  at  Oxford,  Maryland,  in 
or  about  the  year  1747,  brought  with  her  a  youth  thirteen 
years  of  age  who  was  of  no  more  interest  to  any  one,  except 
his  father,  who  met  him  when  he  disembarked,  than  most 
other  boys.  He  was  a  strong-looking  young  Englishman. 
He  came  out  to  make  America  his  future  home ;  and  while 
there  was  a  determination  written  on  his  face  and  a 
humorous  and  friendly  twinkle  in  his  eye,  his  arrival 
was  without  meaning  enough  to  make  it  seem  worth  while 
for  any  one  to  hand  down  to  us  descriptions  of  his  early 
life.  The  future  Financier  of  the  American  Revolution 
came  of  as  humble  a  parentage  as  it  is  safe  for  the  fates 
and  destinies  to  allot  to  great  men.  His  grandfather  was 
a  mariner  who  voyaged  about  the  English  coast.  His 
father  had  been  bred  to  the  trade  of  a  nailmaker.  Of  his 
mother  nothing  has  ever  been  narrated,  and  he  seems  never 
to  have  known  her  love  or  care.  He,  however,  was  fortu 
nate  enough  to  receive  some  early  attention  from  a  grand 
mother,  of  whose  kindnesses  he  spoke  with  gratitude  in 


2  ROBERT   MORRIS 

future  years,1  and  his  father  had  two  sisters,  one  of  whom 
was  a  butcher's  wife  in  Liverpool,  and  the  other  the 
domestic  helpmeet  of  a  clerk  or  merchant's  assistant  in 
some  London  business  house.2 

Robert  Morris  was  born  on  January  31,  1734,  in  Liver 
pool,  from  which  port  the  grandfather,  Andrew  the 
mariner,  went  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  and  which  was 
therefore  the  family  home.  "Old  England,  my  native 
country,"  he  used  tenderly  to  muse  in  his  later  years.  His 
father,  Robert  Morris,  Sr.,  having  abandoned  his  trade  as 
an  iron  worker,  emigrated  to  America  some  time  before  the 
century  had  yet  reached  the  forties,  and  settled  in  Oxford 
on  the  Chesapeake  as  the  agent  of  a  large  firm  of  tobacco 
merchants,  Foster  Cunliffe  and  Sons  of  Liverpool.  He  was 
also  a  native  of  Liverpool,  having  been  born  in  17 II.3 
The  American  town  to  which  he  came  was  at  that  time  an 
important  market  and  outfitting  station  for  the  whole 
eastern  and  western  shores  of  Maryland.  No  other  port 
on  the  bay  was  so  busy,  and  it  was  not  unusual  for  seven 
or  eight  ships  to  be  anchored  there  at  one  time,  unloading 
European  goods  and  taking  on  American  cargoes,  which 
were  made  up  for  the  most  part  of  tobacco. 

Mr.  Morris,  Sr.,  was  charged  with  the  purchase  and 
shipment  of  the  baled  leaf  to  his  principals  in  England. 
He  was  a  jovial  soul,  and  a  bon  vivant  who  made  friends 
easily.  Whatever  his  early  education  had  been,  he  was  at 

i  Wain's  "  Life  of  Morris." 

*  Boogher's  Repository,  Vol.  I.  Phila.  1883. 

»  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  XXVI.  p.  153. 


FROM   THE   OLD   WORLD   TO   THE   NEW  3 

least  given  to  the  reading  of  books.  He  is  known  to  have 
had  a  library,  for  to  each  of  many  of  his  friends  he  left  at 
his  death  "  any  six  books  "  which  might  be  chosen  from  it, 
and  in  his  dying  hours  Henry  Callister,  who  succeeded 
him  as  Cunliffe's  representative  at  Oxford,  read  to  him 
from  Plato's  "  Phaedo,"  which  is  said  to  have  soothed  his 
mind  and  alleviated  his  physical  sufferings.1  From  his 
father,  therefore,  Robert  Morris  may  have  inherited  a  good 
deal  of  ability  and  intellectual  understanding.  He  came 
to  America  at  his  parent's  desire  as  soon  as  he  was  able 
to  travel  alone  on  one  of  Cunliffe's  ships,  and  was  given 
into  the  charge  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  Gordon  to  be  educated. 
This  gentleman  did  not  impress  his  new  pupil  as  a  teacher 
from  whom  much  knowledge  might  be  derived,  wherefore 
progress  was  slow,  and  the  elder  Morris  took  his  son  to 
task  for  his  inattention  to  his  books.  "I  have  learned, 
sir,"  the  boy  replied,  "  all  that  the  master  could  teach  me." a 

Whether  this  were  true  or  not,  it  was  not  long  before 
the  boy  reached  the  city  which  was  to  be  his  lifelong 
home.  Among  the  Maryland  tobacco  factor's  friends  was 
numbered  Robert  Greenway,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia, 
who  agreed  to  look  after  the  lad,  educate  him,  and  put 
him  in  the  way  to  business  advancement.  He  was  not 
long  in  finishing  with  teachers  and  schools,  and  Greenway 
put  the  lad  to  work  in  the  mercantile  house  which  two 
Englishmen,  Charles  and  Thomas  Willing,  had  established , 
in  Philadelphia  about  the  year  1726.  Young  Morris 
entered  the  counting-room  and  soon  exhibited  an  adapta-' 

i  Boogher's  Repository,  Vol.  I.  2  Wain's  "  Life  of  Morris." 


4  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Ability  for  business  which  won  the  favorable  attention  of 
his  employers  and  prepared  the  way  for  his  rapid  rise  in 
\  commercial  life.  Once,  in  Charles  Willing's  absence,  the 
young  man  having  received  early  notice  from  a  ship 
which  had  just  arrived  in  the  Delaware  that  the  price 
of  flour  had  suddenly  advanced  in  foreign  markets, 
contracted  on  the  firm's  account  for  all  that  could  be  pro 
cured  in  the  neighborhood.  The  merchants  of  Phila 
delphia  on  Mr.  Willing's  return  complained  to  him  of 
the  methods  employed  by  his  clerk.  The  free  purchases  of 
the  young  man  had  increased  the  price  of  the  commodity, 
and  they,  having  sold  their  stock,  were  left  to  replenish 
it  at  the  higher  rate.  Mr.  Willing  commended  young 
Morris's  enterprise,  and  discerned  in  him  qualities  which 
in  a  little  while  led  to  his  being  made  a  partner  in  the  firm.1 
In  the  meantime  the  boy  lost  his  father.  While  he 
saw  little  enough  of  the  Oxford  tobacco  merchant,  going 
seldom  to  Maryland  and  his  parent  coming  rarely  to 
Philadelphia,  the  tragedy  that  orphaned  him  strongly 
affected  the  lad's  warm  heart.  It  was  in  the  summer  of 
1750.  Morris,  Sr.,  was  only  forty  and  his  son  seven 
teen  when  the  ship  Liverpool,  laden  with  a  cargo,  arrived 
in  Chesapeake  Bay.  At  that  day  it  was  the  custom  for 
a  vessel  captain,  on  reaching  port  after  a  successful  voy 
age  and  again  before  setting  out  for  sea,  to  entertain  the 
consignee  or  consignor  on  board  ship.  Morris  went  out 
in  a  small  boat  with  a  party  of  friends  to  meet  the  vessel. 
He  had  some  premonition  of  disaster,  for  he  asked  the 
i  Wain,  p.  191. 


FROM   THE   OLD   WORLD   TO   THE   NEW  5 

captain  on  this  occasion  to  dispense  with  a  feature  usual 
to  such  ceremonies,  —  the  firing  of  a  salute  after  the 
departure  of  the  guests.  At  his  desire  the  commander 
of  the  ship  gave  orders  to  the  men  that  the  compliment 
ary  shot  should  be  omitted,  at  which  the  sailors  quite 
generally  expressed  dissent.  Each  mariner  was  accus 
tomed  to  receive  a  glass  of  grog  after  the  salute.  The 
captain  mentioned  the  fact  to  Mr.  Morris,  who,  in  this 
time  of  general  good  feeling,  yielded,  although  it  was 
stipulated  that  the  gun  should  not  be  discharged  until 
the  sailors  should  receive  a  prearranged  signal  from 
the  yawl  in  which  the  company  was  being  conveyed  to 
the  shore.  One  informant  tells  us  that  the  sign  was  the 
captain's  laying  his  finger  upon  his  nose ;  another,  that  it 
was  the  dropping  of  a  handkerchief.  Whichever  ac 
count  we  accept,  we  are  assured  that  the  movement  was 
made  prematurely.  In  the  one  case  a  fly  lodged  upon 
the  captain's  nose,  and  he  involuntarily  raised  his  hand  to 
brush  it  off,  while  in  the  second  case  a  lady  let  her 
handkerchief  fall,  also  without  thought  of  the  conse 
quences.  The  sailors,  mistaking  the  movement  for  their 
signal,  fired  their  salute,  the  shot,  as  luck  would  have  it, 
passing  through  the  backboard  of  the  pinnace  of  the 
yawl,  breaking  one  of  Mr.  Morris's  arms  a  little  above! 
the  elbow.1  It  was  not  a  serious  wound,  but  proper  sur 
gical  treatment  was  unobtainable  in  Oxford.  Blood-pois 
oning  ensued,  and  in  a  few  days  the  patient  died,  before 

1Boogher's  Repository,  Vol.  I;  Wain's  "Life  of  Robert  Morris" 
Redwood  Fisher's  "Reminiscences." 


6  ROBERT   MORRIS 

the  boy  in  Philadelphia  knew  of  his  father's  injury. 
He  had  chosen  his  own  burial-place.  He  named  the 
friends  whom  he  wished  to  look  after  the  settlement 
of  his  estate,  one  of  whom  was  Mr.  Greenway  of  Phila 
delphia.  He  directed  them  to  cause  "  a  handsome  stone 
to  be  put  over  me,  with  any  inscription  they  shall  think 
proper."  1  On  a  time-stained  piece  of  marble  in  the  old 
White  Marsh  Burial  Ground  in  St.  Peter's  Parish,  Talbot 
County,  Maryland,  about  four  miles  from  Oxford,  these 
lines  may  still  be  read:  — 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

ROBERT  MORRIS,  A  NATIVE  OF  LIVERPOOL,  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 

LATE  MERCHANT  OF  OXFORD 

IN  THIS  PROVINCE. 

Punctual  Integrity  influenced  his  dealings. 

Principals  of  honor  governed  his  actions. 

With  an  uncommon  degree  of  Sincerity, 

He  despised  Artifice  and  Dissimulation. 

His  Friendship  was  firm,  candid  and  valuable. 

His  Charity  frequent,  secret  and  well  adapted. 

His  Zeal  for  the  Publicke  good  active  and  useful. 

His  Hospitality  was  enhanced  by  his  Conversation, 

Seasoned  with  cheerful  wit  and  a  sound  judgment. 
A  Salute  from  the  canon  of  a  ship, 
The  wad  fracturing  his  arm 
Was  the  signal  by  which  he  departed 
Greatly  lamented  as  he  was  esteemed, 
In  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age, 
On  the  12th  day  of  July, 
MDCCL 2 

1  Robert  Morris,  Sr's.,  will  in  Boogher's  Repository. 

2  Fisher's  "  Revolutionary  Reminiscences  connected  with  the  Life  of 
Robert  Morris." 


FROM   THE   OLD   WORLD   TO   THE   NEW  7 

Robert  Morris  was  now  alone  in  the  world,  except  for 
some  relations  in  England  whom  he  did  not  know  and 
whose  acquaintance  in  future  he  never  sought.  Indeed 
he  was  soon  to  be  somewhat  worse  than  alone.  He  was'' 
to  have  a  half-brother,  born,  after  his  father's  death,  to< 
a  woman  in  Maryland,  to  serve  as  a  curse  to  the  public 
career  and  a  heavy  private  expense  to  the  young  mer 
chant  in  Philadelphia,  who,  oddly  enough,  recognized  the 
relationship,  and  treated  the  boy  with  the  loving  regard 
which  most  men  reserve  for  their  own  children. 

Robert  Morris,  Sr.,  had  left  a  personal  estate  valued  at 
about  $7000,  and  his  son  Robert  was  the  principal  legatee. 
Mr.  Greenway  in  Philadelphia  was  designated  as  the 
young  man's  guardian,  but  so  many  small  bequests  were 
to  come  out  of  the  little  fortune  that  the  amount  re 
maining  was  not  large.  "I  commend  my  soul  to  Al 
mighty  God,  the  author  and  giver  of  life,  and  my  body 
to  be  decently  interred  in  the  earth  in  hopes  and  full 
confidence  of  a  joyful  resurrection  through  the  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  my  Redeemer  and  Saviour, 
and  I  dispose  of  that  worldly  estate  with  which  it  has 
pleased  the  Almighty  to  bless  me,  as  follows,"  Mr.  Morris's 
will  began.  One  hundred  pounds  must  be  paid  to  Ellin 
Eccleston,  his  "  beloved  sister,"  the  butcher's  wife,  in 
Liverpool,  the  same  amount  to  his  sister,  Margaret  Trout, 
wife  of  the  merchant's  helper  in  London,  and  to  Mrs.  Wise, 
in  Maryland,  for  whom  there  was  reason  that  he  should 
provide,  and  there  were  various  other  friends  and  relations, 
among  whom  he  distributed  small  sums  of  money,  silver 


8  ROBERT   MORRIS 

tankards,  silver   pipes,   books,   silver   waiters,    mahogany 
armchairs,  arid  mourning  rings. 

The  son  looked  on  while  the  estate  was  being  partitioned 
among  men  and  women  who  were  for  the  most  part 
strangers  to  him.  Although  the  few  thousand  dollars 
which  remained  were  much  better  than  absolute  penury, 
the  starting-point  of  many  self-made  men,  it  was  not  for  his 
small  inheritance  but  because  his  manner  had  pleased  his 
employer,  that  Charles  Willing,  in  1754,  when  Morris 
reached  his  majority,  made  him  a  partner  in  the  firm. 
Desiring  to  bring  forward  his  son  Thomas  as  the  active 
•}  head  of  the  business  of  the  house  of  Willing,  and  at  the 
same  time  befriend  the  boy  in  his  counting-room,  Charles 
Willing  joined  the  two  young  men  in  its  future  manage 
ment  under  the  firm  name  of  Willing  and  Morris.  This 
house,  under  their  energetic  conduct,  in  a  few  years  be- 
j  came  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  stable  of  the  great 
I  mercantile  establishments  of  Philadelphia.  Willing  and 
Morris  owned  and  navigated  their  own  ships.  They 
traded  with  Europe  and  the  West  Indies.  The  two 
partners  early  in  the  progress  of  the  Revolution  entered 
Congress,  and  together  served  their  country  patriotically 
throughout  the  war.  rTt  was  to  Thomas  Willing  that  Morris 
turned  when,  as  Financier  of  the  Revolution,  he  desired 
to  organize  the  Bank  of  North  America,  and  the  two 
men  and  their  firm  cooperated  in  carrying  through  the 
daring  operations  to  save  the  credit  of  the  colonies  and 
to  support  Washington  in  his  work  of  ridding  the  coun 
try  of  the  British  foe.  As  Willing,  Morris  and  Co., 


FROM   THE   OLD   WORLD    TO   THE   NEW  9 

Willing,  Morris  and  Inglis,  and  Willing,  Morris  and 
Swan  wick,  the  firm  continued  to  play  a  prominent  part 
in  the  commercial  life  of  Philadelphia  until  near  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Morris,  in  the  early  history  of  his  firm,  sometimes  made 
voyages  with  his  ship  captains  to  the  West  Indies,  and 
on  at  least  one  occasion  he  visited  Europe.  It  is  re 
lated  that  during  one  of  the  wars  between  France  and 
England  his  vessel  was  captured  and  he  was  taken  pris 
oner  by  the  French.  Being  put  ashore  after  rather  cruel 
treatment,  and  being  left  without  a  shilling  in  his  purse, 
his  situation  was  for  a  time  very  precarious.  His  in 
genuity,  however,  enabled  him  to  mend  a  Frenchman's 
watch,  for  which  service  he  secured  a  small  payment,  and 
thus  made  his  way  .to  a  port  in  which  he  found  a  home 
ward  bound  ship.1  The  business  of  Willing  and  Morris 
was  so  extensive  and  lucrative  that  both  partners  were 
accounted  wealthy  men  long  before  the  colonies  declared 
their  independence. 

In  1765  Robert  Morris  was  active  in  resisting  the 
enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  the  Stamp  Act.  Al 
though  an  Englishman  by  birth,  he  identified  himself  with 
the  American  cause  in  the  first  stages  of  the  contest  be 
tween  the  motherland  and  her  colonies.  On  October  5, 
1765,  the  nose  of  the  Royal  Charlotte,  an  English  merchant 
vessel,  under  escort  of  the  Sardine,  an  English  man-of- 
war,  appeared  around  Gloucester  Point.  The  ship,  which 
was  filled  with  "the  horrible  stamp  paper,"  had  been 
1  "  Life  of  Robert  Morris,  the  Great  Financier,"  Phila.  1841. 


10  ROBERT   MORRIS 

lying  at  anchor  down  the  river  for  several  days.  The 
officers  feared  to  bring  her  up.  It  was  well  understood 
that  the  colonists  would  resist  the  landing  of  the  paper 
vigorously.  When  the  Charlotte  finally  hove  in  sight, 
all  the  other  ships  at  their  wharves  and  in  midstream 
displayed  their  flags  at  half-mast.  The  bells  of  the  city 
were  tolled.  Drums  muffled  with  crape  were  beaten  up 
and  down  the  city  streets  by  particularly  sable  negroes 
employed  for  the  work.  Men  closed  their  shops  and 
offices,  and  the  highways  were  filled  with  people  who 
ran  hither  and  thither  excitedly.  A  crowd  collected  at 
the  State  House  where,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
a  meeting  was  held  to  decide  what  course  should  be  pur 
sued  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  King's  tyrannous 
measures. 

The  leading  lawyers  and  merchants  in  the  city  made 
impassioned  addresses  to  the  people,  and  after  the 
speakers  had  been  heard  and  their  sentiments  loudly 
cheered,  a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed  to  visit 
John  Hughes,  a  well-to-do  Philadelphia  shopkeeper,  who 
had  been  chosen  to  receive  and  sell  the  stamps.  He  was 
asked  the  direct  question  whether  or  not  he  proposed  to 
take  up  his  commission  and  perform  the  duties  of  his 
office.  In  the  meantime  the  meeting  would  remain  in 
session,  in  the  hope  of  receiving  an  immediate  reply. 
Robert  Morris  was  one  of  the  members,  and  the  spokes 
man  of  the  committee.1  He  and  his  colleagues  repaired 
at  once  to  Hughes's  house,  but  the  King's  stamp  agent 
i  Charles  Henry  Hart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  I. 


FROM  THE  OLD  WORLD  TO  THE  NEW     11 

was  confined  to  his  bed  with  a  serious  malady.  Never 
theless  they  mounted  the  stairs  to  his  room,  talked 
with  him  for  an  hour,  in  spite  of  his  condition,  and 
told  him  that  the  populace  would  undoubtedly  come  to 
the  house  and  tear  it  to  the  ground,  stone  by  stone,  if 
he  were  disposed  to  receive  the  stamps  and  collect  the 
tax.  Hughes  pleaded  his  grave  illness,  and  asked  that 
the  committee  wait  for  a  definite  reply  until  Monday 
morning.  This  was  a  Saturday  afternoon.  Morris  and 
the  other  delegates  returned  to  the  State  House  and 
made  their  report,  but  the  people  were  dissatisfied  with 
the  result  of  the  mission,  and  it  was  only  on  the  plea 
that  Hughes  was  at  the  point  of  death,  that  they  were 
prevented  from  going  to  his  house  in  a  mob.  They 
at  length  were  quietly  dispersed,  and  when  Monday 
came,  the  seven  committeemen  called  again  at  Hughes's 
house.  Morris  explained  that  they  did  not  ask  him  to 
resign  his  office.  They  desired  only  that  he  should  not 
accept  of  the  appointment  —  a  rather  subtle  distinction 
—  and  they  received  a  written  statement  from  Hughes 
to  the  effect  that  he  would  make  no  attempt  to  en 
force  the  obnoxious  act,  at  least  until  it  should  be  gener 
ally  put  into  execution  in  the  other  colonies.  The  crowds 
in  the  meanwhile  had  reassembled  at  the  State  House, 
and  when  the  answer  was  publicly  read,  they  at  first 
seemed  to  be  appeased.  They  cheered  thrice  for  Hughes 
and  the  seven  committeemen  who  had  extracted  the 
promise  from  him.  In  a  little  while,  however,  they 
began  to  suspect  and  distrust,  and  Hughes  soon  was 


12  ROBERT   MORRIS 

compelled  to  go  farther.  He  was  obliged  to  pledge  him 
self  to  take  no  steps  to  distribute  the  stamps  until  the 
citizens  of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  (for  his  appoint 
ment  covered  both  colonies)  wished  him  to  perform  his 
duties.  This  declaration  was  so  comprehensive,  and 
offered  so  good  a  guarantee,  since  it  transferred  all  the 
responsibility  to  the  people,  where  they  wished  it  to  be, 
that  Mr.  Hughes  was  reinstated  in  the  good  opinions 
of  his  fellow  Philadelphians.1 

In  November  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia  met  and 
passed  the  famous  Non-importation  Resolutions.  These 
were  signed  by  Robert  Morris,  his  partner,  Mr.  Willing, 
and  about  four  hundred  other  merchants.  By  this  docu 
ment  the  subscribers  agreed,  when  placing  their  orders  in 
England,  to  stipulate  that  the  goods  must  not  be  shipped 
until  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  and  that  orders  already 
sent  out  should  be  cancelled,  except  in  the  case  of  such 
merchants  among  the  subscribers  as  were  owners  of 
vessels  which  had  already  cleared  for  Great  Britain. 
These  ships  might  bring  back  coal,  earthenware,  pipes, 
grindstones,  iron  posts,  empty  bottles,  and  other  bulky 
articles  with  which  owners  at  that  time  usually  weighted 
their  vessels.  On  no  account  were  dry  goods  of  any  kind 
to  be  included  in  the  cargoes.  Moreover,  no  merchant, 
a  party  to  the  agreement,  should  sell  merchandise  of  any 
kind  on  commission  after  January  1,  1766. 
I  Morris's  prominent  connection  with  the  movement  to  re 
sist  the  Stamp  Act's  impositions  and  clothe  the  Americans 
1  See  newspapers  of  the  time. 


FROM  THE  OLD  WORLD  TO  THE  NEW     13 

in  homespun  until  the  obnoxious  law  should  be  repealed, 
is  proof  of  his  patriotic  interest  in  the  American  cause 
from  the  time  the  difficulties  with  the  mother  country 
began.  His  Americanism  was  never  in  question,  even 
when  ten  years  later  he  advised  against  an  untimely 
declaration  of  independence,  lest  it  should  prevent  a 
reconciliation,  which  he  hoped  for  profoundly.  He  had ; 
won  the  confidence  and  the  high  respect  of  the  com 
munity  into  which  he  had  so  lately  come  as  a  poor  boy,  j 

and  in  1766  Governor  John  Penn  selected  him  as  a  mem- ; 

/' 

ber  of  the  Board  of  Port  Wardens.     This  seems  to  have 
been  his  first  public  office,  and  his  wide  experience  as  a 
importer  and  a  vessel  master  made  him  highly  competen 
to  fill  it. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Morris,  a  man  nearing 
thirty-five,  turned  his  thoughts  to  matrimony.  He  had 
firmly  established  himself  as  a  merchant.  He  possessed 
a  moderate  fortune,  and  was  a  partner  in  a  growing  busi 
ness.  He  sought  the  hand  of  Miss  Mary  White,  the 
daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  White  of  Maryland  and 
the  sister  of  William  White,  later  the  first  bishop  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Pennsylvania  and  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  church  on  this  Continent.  Colonel 
White  was  a  native  Englishman,  who,  like  Morris,  when 
he  was  still  a  boy  had  sailed  for  the  colonies,  settling  in 
Maryland  as  a  lawyer  and  surveyor.  He  became  the 
owner  of  several  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  province, 
and  married  a  Miss  Hall,  who  lived  until  1742.  By 
her  he  had  three  daughters.  Three  years  after  her  death 


14  ROBERT   MORRIS 

he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  visiting  his  Maryland  pos 
sessions  only  two  or  three  times  a  year,  to  give  them 
oversight.  In  1747  he  married  again,  his  choice  falling 
upon  a  widow,  Esther  (Hewlings)  Newman,  the  daughter 
of  Abraham  Hewlings  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey.  Of 
this  union  two  children  were  born,  Mary,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Robert  Morris,  and  William,  the  future  bishop 
of  the  English  Church  in  America.1  The  family  held  a 
social  position  which  Mr.  Morris's  had  never  possessed. 
Miss  White's  father  and  mother  were  people  of  the  high 
est  character.  "  Billy,"  as  she  affectionately  called  her 
brother,  was  an  honor  to  his  parents,  to  the  church,  and 
to  the  young  nation  upon  which  he  exercised  so  great  a 
moral  influence,  and  she  herself  proved  her  nobility  and 
womanliness  in  happy  as  well  as  the  unhappiest  situa 
tions. 

Robert  Morris  and  Mary  White  were  married  in  Phila 
delphia  on  March  2,  1769,  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Peters. 
He  was  a  man  of  thirty-five,  and  she  a  girl  of  twenty ;  he 
experienced  in  the  world  and  its  affairs,  made  so  by  stern 
need,  and  she  quite  fresh  to  its  revelations,  who  still, 
in  1777,  when  John  Hancock  was  on  the  point  of  resign 
ing  the  presidency  of  Congress,  and  the  office  had  been 
offered  to  Morris,  wrote  to  her  "  Mamma :  "  —  "  Don't  you 
feel  quite  important?  I  assure  you  I  do,  and  begin  to 
be  reconciled  to  independence."2 

It  was  as  a  man  forty-one  years  old,  six  years  married, 

1  Colonel  Thomas  White  of  Maryland,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  I. 

2  Hart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  I. 


FROM  THE  OLD  WORLD  TO  THE  NEW     15 

with  four  children,  —  three  sons  and  a  daughter,  —  and  as 
the  active  partner  in  the  leading  importing  house  in 
Philadelphia,  with  many  ships  upon  the  sea,  that  Mr. 
Morris  entered  the  Continental  Congress  in  1775  to  begin 
his  distinguished  career  in  assisting  the  American  people 
to  achieve  their  independence  from  Great  Britain. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS 

ROBERT  MORRIS,  while  he  had  actively  opposed  the 
Stamp  Act,  was  not  a  radical  partisan  on  the  subject  of 
independence.  In  his  political  views  he  was  always  aris 
tocratic.  Men  of  large  business  interests,  both  he  and  his 
partner,  while  they  were  Whigs  in  their  sympathies,  con 
sidered  the  consequences  of  an  open  declaration  of  inde 
pendence.  They  hoped  even  after  the  war  had  begun 
that  some  way  might  open  for  a  reconciliation  and  a 
settlement  of  the  dispute  between  the  motherland  and 
her  American  colonies.A  It  has  been  said  by  some  of 
Morris's  biographers  that  he  had  overtraded  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  and  that  he  had  nothing  to  lose  by  the  war,  so 
that  he  embraced  the  Whig  interest  eagerly,  in  the  hope 
that  it  might  lead  to  a  betterment  of  fortune.  Convert 
ing  his  ships  into  privateers  to  prey  on  British  commerce 
and  to  reap  advantages  denied  to  other  men,  he  expected 
to  find  the  war  the  source  of  profit  to  him  which  it 
actually  proved  to  be.  Evidence  of  the  truth  of  this 
charge  does  not  exist,  except  in  the  bare  assertions  of  a 
few  of  his  contemporaries,  who  bore  him  n.o  friendship. 
His  actions  throughout  the  years  1775  and  1776  show 
that  he  resisted  the  war  tendency  — so  much  so  that  he 

16 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          17 


nearly  sacrificed  his  own  popularity  as  a  public  man.  A 
less  respected  personality  would  not  have  been  returned 
to  Congress  on  his  record  for  a  vote  against  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  other 
of  Morris's  colleagues  in  the  Pennsylvania  delegation 
who  voted  with  him  did  go  back. 

It  is  related  that  on  St.  George's  Day,  April  23,  1775, 
about  one  hundred  of  the  principal  men  in  Philadelphia 
assembled  at  the  City  Tavern  according  to  their  cus 
tom  on  the  occasion  of  this  anniversary.1  Mr.  Morris 
was  the  presiding  officer.  When  the  festivities  were  still 
at  their  height,  a  messenger  arrived  bringing  news  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  which  had  been  fought  four  days 
before.  At  the  announcement  this  company  of  English 
loyalists,  in  the  midst  of  their  toasts  to  the  mother  coun 
try  and  the  King,  sprang  to  their  feet.  They  overturned 
the  tables,  and  ran  into  the  street  as  though  they  had  been 
suddenly  called  to  their  country's  defence.  Mr.  Morris 
found  himself  facing  an  almost  empty  hall,  and  then  and 
there  he  pledged  himself  to  the  service  of  the  colonies  in 
a  struggle,  the  final  result  of  which  no  man  could  cer 
tainly  foretell.  In^a  few  weeks  a  so-called  Committee  of 
Safety  was  appointed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly. 
It  was  made  the  duty  of  this  body  of  twenty-five  members 
to  exercise  supervisory  military  powers  within  the  prov 
ince.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  elected  its  president  and 
Robert  Morris  a  vice-president,  and  they  continued  in 
their  offices  until  July,  1776,  when  an  independent  repub- 

i  Wain's  "Life  of  Morris." 
c 


18  ROBERT  MORRIS 

Hcan  government  was  organized  for  the  state,  and  other 
agencies  of  defence  were  provided.  Mr.  Morris  was  very 
active  in  this  committee.  At  its  first  meeting  on  July  3, 
a  year  before  the  Declaration,  he  was  made  the  chairman 
of  a  sub-committee,  the  members  of  which  were  authorized 
"  to  procure  any  quantity  of  powder  in  their  power  with 
the  utmost  expedition,"  and  they  were  employed  busily 
for  months  in  organizing  the  militia,  fortifying  the  river, 
and  supplying  the  posts,  batteries,  and  battalions  with 
arms  and  ammunition. 

In  the  meantime,  on  November  3, 1775,  the  Pennsylvania 
[  legislature  elected  Mr.  Morris  to  Congress,  and  he  was 
one  of  seven  members  of  which  the  delegation  from  that 
province  was  composed.  Here  his  practical  knowledge 
of  commerce  and  navigation  placed  him  high  upon  several 
important  Continental  committees.  He  was  at  once  ap 
pointed  the  chairman  of  a  secret  committee,  with  power  to 
contract  for  the  importation  of  arms,  cartridges,  and  gun 
powder.  A  month  after  he  had  taken  his  seat  he  was 
made  a  member  of  a  committee  which  was  to  devise  the 
ways  and  means  for  establishing  a  colonial  navy.  As  a 
result  of  their  recommendations,  Congress  determined  to 
add  five  ships  to  the  fleet,  appointing  a  regular  naval  com 
mittee,  with  Morris  as  a  prominent  member,  the  beginning 
of  his  connection  with  that  branch  of  the  Continental 
service  of  which  he  was  later  to  become  the  chief. 

In  April,  1776,  the  Philadelphia  merchant  commenced 
his  career  as  a  public  financier.  He  was  specially  com 
missioned  by  Congress  to  suggest  methods  and  provide 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN    CONGRESS          19 

measures  for  procuring  money  to  prosecute  the  war,  and 
this  proved  to  be  a  work  from  which  he  found  no  relief 
until  the  final  peace. 

On  June  7  Richard  Henry  Lee  had  brought  forward 
his  resolution  in  Congress  in  favor  of  a  declaration  of 
independence  from  Great  Britain,  and  the  famous  instru 
ment  itself  made  its  appearance  in  that  body  on  July  2. 
When  the  first  vote  was  taken,  four  of  the  seven  delegates 
from  Pennsylvania,  Robert  Morris,  Thomas  Willing,  John 
Dickinson,  and  Charles  Humphreys,  were  found  to  be 
opposed  to  the  step,  and  two  days  later,  when  the  docu 
ment  was  to  be  approved  in  a  final  way,  Mr.  Morris  and 
Mr.  Dickinson  absented  themselves  from  the  session. 
Morris  believed  that  the  Declaration  was  premature. 
While  actively  preparing  for  war,  he  hoped  that  it  might 
still  by  some  miracle  be  averted.  He  aimed  to  calm  the 
intemperate  and  hasty,  and  as  time  wore  on,  when  in 
Philadelphia  in  December,  1776,  virtually  the  head  of 
the  Continental  government  (Congress  having  fled  to 
Baltimore),  Morris,  writing  to  the  Commissioners  in 
France  of  the  unhappy  state  of  the  country,  said,  "  Our 
people  knew  not  the  hardships  and  calamities  of  war 
when  they  so  boldly  dared  Britain  to  arms." 

The  radical  forces,  however,  had  forced  Morris  into  his 
responsible  position,  and  he  did  not  swerve  from  his  way. 
Nowhere  was  extreme  democracy  so  rampant  as  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  a  group  of  men,  with  Thomas  Paine 
at  their  head,  were  busily  working  to  overturn  the  pro 
prietary  government,  and  set  up  in  its  place  a  fantastic 


20  ROBERT    MORRIS 

republic  with  a  legislature  of  a  single  chamber.1  Morris's 
public  services,  his  financial  prestige,  and  commercial 
judgment  they  could  not  do  without.  The  punishment 
which  awaited  the  other  Pennsylvanians  who  had  voted 
against  the  Declaration  —  the  loss  of  their  seats  in 
Congress  —  was  not  meted  out  to  him.  Explaining 
his  position  at  this  time  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  Joseph 
Reed:  — 

"  I  have  uniformly  voted  against  and  opposed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  because  in  my  poor  opinion 
it  was  an  improper  time,  and  will  neither  promote  the 
interest  nor  redound  to  the  honor  of  America,  for  it  has 
caused  division  when  we  wanted  union,  and  will  be 
ascribed  to  very  different  principles  than  those  which 
ought  to  give  rise  to  such  an  important  measure.  I  did 
expect  my  conduct  on  this  great  occasion  would  have 
procured  my  dismission  from  the  great  Council,  but  find 
myself  disappointed,  for  the  convention  has  thought  it 
proper  to  retain  me  in  the  new  delegation,  and  although 
my  interest  and  inclination  prompt  me  to  decline  the 
service,  yet  I  cannot  depart  from  one  point  which  first 
induced  me  to  enter  the  public  line.  I  mean  the  opinion 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  act  his  part  in 
whatever  station  his  country  may  call  him  to  in  hours  of 
difficulty,  danger,  and  distress.  Whilst  I  think  this  a 
duty,  I  must  submit,  although  the  councils  of  America 
have  taken  a  different  course  from  my  judgment  and 
wishes.  I  think  that  the  individual  who  declines  the 
1  Oberholtzer's  "  The  Referendum  in  America." 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          21 

service  of  his  country  because  its  councils  are  not  con 
formable  to  his  ideas  makes  but  a  bad  subject;  a  good- 
one  will  follow,  if  he  cannot  lead."1 

Despite  his  views  on  the  subject,  which  are  here  so 
plainly  expressed,  Mr.  Morris  on  August  2  subscribed 
his  name  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was 
one  of  the  "  signers  "  of  that  famous  document,  but  much 
had  occurred  in  one  brief  month  to  strengthen  the  re 
solves  of  those  who  first  had  faltered  at  the  thought  of  a 
separation  from  the  mother  country  and  a  prolonged  civil 
war. 

The  old  proprietary  government  in  Pennsylvania  estab 
lished  by  the  Penn  family,  representatives  of  which  were 
still  in  the  province,  serving  as  governors  and  agents  for 
the  sale  and  lease  of  lands,  was  distrusted  by  the  Whig 
elements,  and  it  was  deemed  very  important  by  the  more 
radical  that  it  should  be  swept  away.  Before  the  Declara 
tion  had  yet  been  drafted  or  signed,  this  feat  had  been 
pretty  well  accomplished.  The  people's  liberties  were 
guarded  by  Committees  of  Correspondence  and  Com 
mittees  of  Inspection  and  Observation  in  every  county, 
and  these  "  minute  men "  called  a  conference  to  meet  in 
Philadelphia  in  June  to  consider  a  plan  for  assembling 
a  convention  which  should  frame  a  constitution  for  a 
free  state.  The  members  of  this  body  were  hurriedly 
chosen.  They  at  once  took  all  branches  of  the  service 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  old  agents,  usurping  executive 
and  judicial  as  well  as  all  the  legislative  powers,  in  the 
i  Hart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  I. 


22  ROBERT   MORRIS 

province,  passing  laws  and  ordinances,  making  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  militia,  and  selecting  delegates  to 
the  Continental  Congress.  A  constitution,  so  Utopian 
and  odd  that  it  was  the  subject  of  strife  between  two 
bitterly  hostile  factions  throughout  the  war,  was  framed 
and  promulgated.1 

While  this  convention,  as  we  have  said,  reflected 
Morris  to  Congress,  he  was  opposed  to  the  framing  of 
new  constitutions,  just  as  he  was  opposed  to  a  declaration  of 
independence,  and  he  was  particularly  displeased  with  this 
constitution,  in  common  with  most  of  the  other  leading 
men  of  the  state.  As  late  as  in  October,  1777,  after  Bur- 
goyne's  surrender,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  General  Gates :  — 

"Mr.  Johnson,  and  indeed  all  the  other  Maryland 
delegates,  are  at  home  forming  a  constitution.  This 
seems  to  be  the  present  business  of  all  America  ex 
cept  the  army.  It  is  the  fruit  of  a  certain  premature 
declaration  which  you  know  I  always  opposed.  My 
opposition  was  founded  on  the  evil  consequences  I  fore 
saw,  or  thought  I  foresaw,  and  the  present  state  of  several 
of  the  colonies  justifies  my  apprehension.  We  are  dis 
puting  about  liberties,  privileges,  posts,  and  places,  at 
the  very  time  we  ought  to  have  nothing  in  view  but 
the  securing  of  those  objects  and  placing  them  on  such 
a  footing  as  to  make  them  worth  contending  for  amongst 
ourselves  hereafter." 

Meanwhile,  the  Constitution  of  1776  having  been 
adopted  by  the  convention,  which  declared  it  to  be  the 
1  Oberholtzer's  "  The  Referendum  in  America." 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN    CONGRESS          23 

supreme  law  of  the  new  state,  great  opposition  to  it  was 
developed,  especially  in  Philadelphia.  Town  meetings 
were  held.  Its  peculiar  features,  such  as  a  single  and 
unchecked  house  of  assembly,  the  absence  of  a  governor, 
and  the  establishment  in  his  stead  of  a  hydra-headed 
executive  council,  a  Council  of  Censors  which  was  to 
meet  every  seven  years  to  determine  if  the  provisions 
of  the  Constitution  had  been  properly  observed,  and  a 
judiciary  which  was  adjudged  to  be  subservient  to  the 
legislature,  alarmed  men  of  sounder  and  more  conserva 
tive  view.  The  Anti-constitutionalists  when,  in  Novem 
ber,  1776,  the  time  came  for  the  first  election  under  the 
Constitution,  prepared  for  an  active  campaign.  Mr. 
Morris  was  nominated  for  the  legislature  on  their  ticket, 
and  received  a  large  vote.  The  whole  Anti-constitutional 
list  of  candidates  was  elected,  and  at  a  public  meeting 
instructions  to  the  city's  representatives  in  the  Assembly 
were  prepared  and  were  read  from  the  steps  of  the 
State  House  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  the  crowd  of  people 
gathered  there  signifying  their  approval  by  raising  their 
hands.  The  members  were  asked  to  use  their  "  utmost 
influence  to  prevent  the  immediate  execution"  of  the 
Constitution,  and  demand  a  prompt  revision  of  that 
instrument.  After  having  prepared  another  form  of 
government  suitable  for  a  free  state,  they  were  to  publish 
it  and  dissolve  their  body,  having  previously  issued  writs 
of  election  for  the  members  of  a  new  assembly. 

In  the  legislature,  however,  Mr.  Morris  and  his  friends 
were  outnumbered  by  the  radicals,  who  had  been  returned 


24  ROBERT   MORRIS 

from  the  interior  counties  where  the  most  democratic 
opinions  were  entertained.  John  Dickinson  and  his  fol 
lowing  withdrew  from  the  Assembly.  Some  of  the  dele 
gates  never  took  their  seats.  A  speaker  could  not  be 
elected  until  late  in  November  because  of  the  strife  be 
tween  the  factions,  and  two  weeks  later,  Howe,  who  was 
active  in  New  Jersey  planning  a  descent  upon  Philadel 
phia,  frightened  away  most  of  the  assemblymen  who  were 
in  town  willing  to  organize  the  government.  On  Decem 
ber  12  Congress  fled  to  Baltimore,  leaving  Mr.  Morris  in 
charge  of  its  affairs,  affording  him  the  first  large  oppor 
tunity  to  prove  his  ability  as  a  public  executive  and 
manifest  his  devotion  to  the  colonial  cause.  A  few  days 
after  Congress  had  departed,  Morris  wrote  to  the  Com 
missioners  in  France  that  Philadelphia  was  "  the  greatest 
scene  of  distress  that  you  can  conceive."  The  whole 
city  seemed  to  be  on  wheels.  The  streets  were  filled 
with  beds,  furniture,  and  baggage,  and  scarcely  anybody 
remained  but  the  Quakers,  some  sick  soldiers  in  the  hos 
pitals,  and  a  small  body  of  troops  making  a  desperate  effort, 
with  Morris's  help,  to  put  the  city  in  a  state  of  defence. 
This  was  one  of  the  crises  of  the  war,  and  Morris 
came  out  of  it  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  the  young  nation. 
It  was  just  before  the  famous  Christmas  night  when 
Washington  crossed  the  icy  Delaware  and  surprised  the 
Hessians  at  Trenton,  following  up  his  daring  stroke  in 
a  few  days  with  further  punishment  which  caused  Phila 
delphia  to  breathe  easier  again.  Riders  came  into  town 
early  in  this  December  of  1776,  announcing  that  an 


THE  MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          25 

advance  guard  of  Hessians  and  Highlanders  had  taken 
possession  of  Burlington  in  New  Jersey,  and  that  they 
were  pushing  forward  to  Cooper's  Ferry,  just  opposite 
the  city.  Congress,  therefore,  hurriedly  decamped, 
though  not  without  first  authorizing  Morris  to  borrow 
$10,000  for  the  use  of  the  Marine  Committee  in 
strengthening  the  defences  on  the  Delaware  and  deput 
ing  him,  together  with  George  Clymer  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  George  Walton  of  Georgia,  though  unofficially,  a 
committee  of  Congress  to  remain  in  the  city  to  perform 
certain  executive  duties  on  the  Continent's  behalf.  On 
reassembling  in  Baltimore  on  December  20,  Congress 
formally  resolved  that  these  three  men  be  "  a  committee 
of  Congress  with  powers  to  execute  such  Continental 
business  as  may  be  proper  and  necessary  to.  be  done  in 
Philadelphia."  This  committee  was  Morris.  He  wrote  a 
few  days  later  that  he  had  not  seen  either  Clymer  or 
Walton,  and  he  did  not  know  whether  they  had  fled  or 
not.  Anyhow,  he  remained  faithfully  at  his  post,  com 
municating  daily  with  Congress  through  John  Hancock, 
who  was  its  President,  with  Washington  and  Gen 
eral  Putnam,  and  with  the  Commissioners  in  France, 
borrowing  money  and  expending  money,  hurrying  for 
ward  the  city's  defences,  urging  the  workmen  at  the 
shipyards  to  hasten  the  work  on  vessels  which  still 
stood  on  the  ways,  and  holding  the  fleet  in  readiness 
for  departure  down  the  bay  at  sign  from  him  when 
approaching  danger  would  seem  to  warrant  it.1 

1  Letters  to  John  Hancock  in  1776,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc.  Bulletin,  1848. 


-  V 

26  ROBERT   MORRIS 

A  less  forceful  character  would  have  shirked  his  duty. 
He  was  in  a  way  self-appointed  to  his  task.  He  might 
have  gone  like  the  rest,  though  his  property  in  the  city 
was  of  great  value,  and  it  was  to  his  own  interest  to 
protect  it  if  he  could.  He  might  have  hesitated  to 
assume  responsibilities  that  belonged  to  him  no  more 
than  to  any  other  man,  and  to  make  obligations  on  his 
own  credit  for  a  government  which  might  never  repay 
him  a  shilling  or  thank  him  for  his  exertion.  He  was 
now  in  the  war  in  earnest,  and  Congress,  from  its  dis 
tant  refuge,  liberally  pledged  him  its  support. 

Even  at  this  early  period  in  the  course  of  the  war 
Morris's  solicitude  regarding  the  Continent's  finances 
was  very  great.  As  a  practical  man  of  business  and 
affairs  he  was  from  the  outset  opposed  to  the  emission 
of  inconvertible  paper  money  —  a  policy  that  was  freely 
resorted  to  both  by  Congress  and  the  legislatures  of 
the  separate  colonies.  He  wrote  to  Congress  in  Balti 
more  :  "  It  is  very  mortifying  for  me  when  I  am  obliged 
to  tell  you  disagreeable  things;  but  I  am  compelled  to 
inform  Congress  that  the  Continental  currency  keeps 
losing  its  credit.  Many  people  refuse  openly  and 
avowedly  to  receive  it."  In  the  country  he  tells  Con 
gress  "nothing  can  be  got  for  your  money."  Many 
persons  refused  to  receive  £250  worth  of  it  in  ex 
change  for  <£100  worth  of  hard  money.  It  everywhere 
took  two  paper  dollars  to  induce  a  holder  to  part  with 
one  silver  dollar.  A  pair  of  shoes  cost  $3  and  a  hat  $12. 
"  A  common  laborer  asks  82  a  day  for  his  work,  and 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          27 

idles  half  his  time,"  Mr.  Morris  complains,  with  that 
characteristic  humor  which  gives  so  much  interest  to 
all  his  writings,  and  which  flashed  through  his  conver 
sation  and  his  speech.  "  Some  effectual  remedy  should 
be  speedily  applied  to  this  evil,  or  the  game  will  be  up." 
Bad  as  all  this  seemed  to  be,  even  Mr.  Morris  could  not 
have  foreseen  that,  in  five  years,  it  would  take  one  thou 
sand  of  these  paper  dollars  to  buy  a  silver  dollar,  that  men 
would  light  their  pipes,  and  the  barbers  of  Philadelphia 
plaster  the  walls  of  their  shops  with  this  disgraced  and 
worthless  currency. 

Morris's  interest  in  the  infant  Continental  navy  led  him 
to  strain  every  nerve  to  save  the  frigates  in  the  harbor 
from  the  enemy.  He  urged  the  builders  of  some  uncom 
pleted  boats  to  use  all  possible  expedition  so  that  they 
might  be  sent  to  sea  before  the  British  should  succeed  in 
crossing  the  Delaware.  The  citizens,  in  so  far  as  any  re 
mained,  were  set  to  work  at  shipbuilding,  and  Mr.  Morris 
himself  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  the  yards  for  the  purpose 
of  superintending  the  operations  and  encouraging  the  men 
to  greater  activity.  Much  of  the  labor  was  performed 
by  volunteers.  As  early  as  in  April,  1776,  Christopher 
Marshall  writes  in  his  diary  that  he  went  up  with  James 
Cannon,  a  teacher  of  mathematics  in  the  College  of  Phila 
delphia,  to  Eyre's  shipyard  in  Kensington,  where  they 
found  Dr.  Young  and  some  friends  at  work  on  a  frigate. 
They  helped  until  night ;  and  the  next  day,  going  back 
again  he  met  a  hundred  of  his  fellow-citizens,  including  a 
body  of  militiamen,  in  their  uniforms,  all  busy  moving  bar 


28  ROBERT   MORRIS 

iron  and  timbers  so  that  the  ships  could  the  sooner  put  to 
sea. 

The  work  was  greatly  delayed,  in  spite  of  Mr. 
Morris's  urgent  appeals.  The  first  attempts  to  cast 
cannon  at  the  colonial  foundries  were  unsuccessful. 
Mechanics  had  been  called  away  from  their  regular 
pursuits  and  were  now  out  in  the  field  with  the  militia. 
No  coal  could  be  got  for  the  anchorsmiths.  Trade  was 
stagnated  in  both  the  inward  and  the  outward  direc 
tions.  Seamen  were  independent  and  insolent,  since 
they  could  make  more  in  privateering  than  in  honest 
ocean  trade.  "In  the  Eastern  states,"  Mr.  Morris 
writes,  "they  are  so  intent  on  privateering  that  they 
mind  little  else."  Imported  goods  were  bought  for  the 
army  as  soon  as  they  arrived,  and  the  price  was  artifi 
cially  enhanced.  The  cost  of  ships  and  material  of 
which  ships  were  built,  had  risen  rapidly  in  common 
with  nearly  everything  else.  By  diligent  exertions, 
however,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  Congress  that  he  hoped 
to  send  six  vessels  to  sea  "if  General  Howe  will  give 
me  but  a  few  days  more,  and  Lord  Howe  keep  away 
his  myrmidons."  News  having  been  received  of  the 
movements  of  the  British  army  which  caused  him 
to  feel  alarm  for  the  safety  of  the  little  squadron,  he, 
in  December,  ordered  the  ships  to  hoist  their  sails  and 
make  an  effort  to  escape.  In  explaining  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  Congress  his  reasons  for  taking  this  step  upon 
his  own  responsibility,  he  observed:  "In  this,  I  flatter 
myself,  I  shall  be  entitled  to  the  approbation  of  Con- 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          29 

gress,  whether  I  meet  it  or  not,  for  my  intentions  are 
good,  and  I  procure  myself  much  trouble,  with  the 
sole  view  of  serving  the  cause."  Hearing  better  ac 
counts  from  New  Jersey,  however,  he  called  the  ships 
back  again.  "  Circumstanced  as  our  affairs  now  are," 
he  wrote,  "I  conceive  it  better  to  take  the  liberty  and 
assume  some  power  than  to  let  the  general  interest 
suffer."  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that,  at  this 
time,  Robert  Morris  was  the  acting  executive  head  for 
the  whole  Continent. 

It  was  well  that  the  ships  had  not  gone  farther,  as  there 
were  several  British  men-of-war  down  the  bay,  but  they 
were  not  so  many  or  so  active  as  to  prevent  the  Andrew 
Doria  from  running  the  blockade.  She  came  into  port 
from  St.  Eustatia  to  increase  Morris's  little  navy,  and 
brought  a  cargo  of  worsted  stockings,  sailors'  jackets, 
blankets,  muskets,  pistols,  powder,  and  lead,  which  he  at 
once  took  it  upon  himself  to  distribute  among  the  various 
camps  and  magazines,  lest  the  enemy  should  suddenly 
enter  the  city  which  was  threatened  by  scouting  parties 
every  day.  Mr.  Morris  took  care  to  remove  stores  of  salt, 
provisions,  and  clothing  to  certain  posts  which  he  estab 
lished  in  the  interior,  at  Lancaster  and  other  places.  His 
expresses,  coming  in  and  going  out  of  the  city  constantly, 
kept  him  in  touch  with  the  Commander-in-chief,  and  at  this 
eventful  season  the  foundations  were  laid  for  his  endur 
ing  friendship  with  General  Washington. 

There  are  times  in  the  career  of  every  army  when 
money  is  absolutely  necessary  to  facilitate  a  military 


30  ROBERT   MORRIS 

movement,  and  although  Washington  relied  upon  the 
enthusiasm  and  patriotic  ardor  of  his  troops  to  a  larger 
extent  than  any  other  great  commander  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  he  found  himself  in  this  embarrassing  situation 
at  Trenton  in  the  year  1776.  It  is  commonly  declared 
that  Morris  was  appealed  to  and  supplied  the  sinews 
which  enabled  Washington  to  make  his  attack  on  the 
Hessians  as  they  were  carousing  at  Trenton  on  Christmas 
night.1  This  seems  to  be  a  mistake.  A  sum  of  money, 
though  it  was  not  large,  was  applied  for  by  Washington 
four  days  after  the  brilliant  stroke  at  Trenton.  This 
was  needed  to  procure  intelligence  about  the  movements 
and  designs  of  the  enemy.  It  went  out  from  Philadel 
phia  on  December  30,  but  all  told  the  shipment  com 
prised  only  four  hundred  and  ten  Spanish  dollars,  two 
English  crowns,  a  French  half-crown,  and  ten  and  one- 
half  English  shillings. 

The  next  day,  the  last  day  of  the  year,  late  in  the 
evening,  a  rider  came  in  from  the  Commander-in-chief's 
camp  asking  for  a  larger  sum,  which  was  required  for 
immediate  use.  Morris  was  now  confronted  with  the 
task  of  his  life. 

While  there  were  times  later  on  in  his  career  as  the 
Revolutionary  Financier  when  he  encountered  greater 
difficulties  in  getting  what  he  so  frequently  called  the 
"  needful "  to  carry  on  the  war,  he  already  complained 
that  the  calls  upon  him  for  money  were  "loud,  large, 
and  constant."  "  I  am  paying  your  debts,  at  least  those 
i  Sparks's  "  Writings  of  Washington,"  Vol.  IV.  p.  545. 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          31 

of  the  Marine  Committee,  and  directing  fifty  necessary 
things  to  be  done,"  he  wrote  to  Congress,  but  he  was  by 
no  means  prepared  for  these  demands  from  the  army  as 
well  as  from  the  navy.  He  had  told  Congress  that  the 
troops  returning  from  Canada  were  "calling  aloud  for 
their  pay."  They  should  have  it,  he  said,  in  his  shrewd 
and  witty  way,  as  "they  very  generally  promise  to  re- 
enlist  when  they  have  spent  what  is  due  them."  Wash 
ington  had  told  Morris  and  Morris  had  told  Congress 
what  the  designs  of  the  enemy  were  in  reference  to 
Philadelphia.  They  hoped  to  take  Washington's  bat 
talions  as  well  as  the  whole  city  when  the  favorable 
moment  arrived,  and  this  they  thought  would  be  around 
the  first  of  January,  when  the  river  might  be  frozen  over, 
and  when  the  Continental  army  would  disband  because 
of  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service  of  the  soldiers. 
"You  might  as  well  attempt  to  stop  the  winds  from 
blowing  or  the  sun  in  its  diurnal  as  stop  them  from 
going  when  their  time  is  up,"  Morris  wrote  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  Congress,  John  Hancock,  in  Baltimore.  But 
this  body  of  gentlemen  knew  not  what  to  do,  and  while 
Washington,  relying  on  his  own  resources,  had  given  the 
foe  one  heavy  blow,  electrifying  the  colonists  with  hope 
that  had  nearly  gone  out  of  them,  he  lacked  the  means 
to  follow  up  his  victory.  He  had  crossed  the  Dela 
ware  a  second  time  with  that  unflinching  courage  that 
served  him  so  well  in  the  darkest  hours.  He  prevailed 
upon  the  troops  to  remain  six  weeks  longer  on  the 
promise  of  a  bounty  of  $10  for  each  soldier,  and  on 


32  ROBERT   MORRIS 

December  31  he  wrote  to  Morris  for  the  money  to  make 
his  promise  good.  The  next  morning  Morris  replied  to 
the  Commander-in-chief  as  follows :  "  I  was  honored  with 
your  favor  of  yesterday  by  Mr.  Howell  late  last  night, 
and  ever  solicitous  to  comply  with  your  regulations,  I 
am  up  very  early  this  morning  to  despatch  a  supply  of 
$50,000  to  your  Excellency.  You  will  receive  that  sum 
with  this  letter;  but  it  will  not  be  got  away  so  early 
as  I  could  wish,  for  none  concerned  in  this  movement 
except  myself  are  up.  I  shall  rouse  them  immediately. 
It  gives  me  great  pleasure  that  you  have  engaged  the 
troops  to  continue,  and  if  further  occasional  supplies  of 
money  are  necessary,  you  may  depend  on  my  exertions 
either  in  a  public  or  private  capacity."1 

It  was  on  this  occasion,  the  stoiy  goes,  that  Morris 
visited  his  Quaker  friends,  now  almost  the  only  men  of 
substance  remaining  in  the  city.  Hostile  to  the  war  as 
he  was,  one  of  these  men  of  peace,  who  had  risen  from 
his  bed  almost  as  early  as  Mr.  Morris,  accosted  him. 
"What  news  so  early,  Robert?"  said  the  Quaker.  "The 
news  is  just  this,  my  friend,"  said  Morris,  "  General 
Washington  needs  a  certain  sum  of  hard  money,  and  I 
must  send  it  to  him  immediately.  I  would  like  you  to 

lend  me dollars,"  mentioning  the  sum.     "  But  what 

is  thy  security,  Robert,  for  this  large  sum  ?  "  "  My  word 
and  my  honor,"  said  Morris.  "  Thou  shalt  have  it,"  the 
Quaker  replied.2 

1  Sparks,  loc.  cit. 

2  Fisher's  "Revolutionary  Reminiscences"  ;  "The  Lives  of  Eminent 
Philadelphians  "  by  Henry  Simpson,  p.  705. 


TRE  MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          33 

Morris  on  this  occasion  and  later  in  the  war  did  not  go 
to  the  wealthy  Quakers  of  Philadelphia  and  come  away 
empty-handed.  The  money  went  out  to  Washington 
with  the  letter  an  hour  or  two  after  sunrise,  and  having  it, 
the  Commander  crept  up  to  Trenton  a  second  time,  by  a 
sudden  movement  marched  around  the  main  body  of  the 
British  army,  and  striking  their  rear-guard  unexpectedly, 
administered  them  a  decisive  defeat.  He  then  took  up 
his  winter  quarters  in  the  mountains  of  New  Jersey,  thus 
ending  a  campaign  which  a  fortnight  before  had  promised 
nothing  but  sorrow  and  gloom  for  the  Whigs  of  America. 

Mr.  Morris,  as  a  practical  man  of  affairs,  was  convinced 
from  the  very  beginning  of  his  public  career  that  the 
duties  of  government  could  not  be  well  performed  by 
committees  and  boards.  He  knew  how  necessary  it  was 
to  give  large  powers  to  single  men,  making  them  respon 
sible  to  the  people  for  the  proper  discharge  of  the  work 
which  was  intrusted  to  them.  He  perceived,  and  again 
and  again  pointed  out,  the  inherent  weakness  of  the  system 
of  government  which  had  been  established  for  the  Conti 
nent,  and  which  was  nothing  more  than  a  mass  meeting  of 
delegates,  the  Continental  Congress.  He  distrusted  the 
Pennsylvania  state  government  under  the  Constitution  of 
1776,  and  the  powerless  national  government  which  was 
established  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation  on  the  same 
grounds.  Mr.  Morris  was  able  to  formulate  his  opinions 
on  this  subject  while  he  was  left  in  charge  in  Philadelphia, 
and  in  those  few  weeks,  which  were  a  baptism  of  fire  for 
this  patriot  so  new  to  the  responsibilities  and  obligations 


34  ROBERT   MORRIS 

of  public  life,  his  character  developed  very  rapidly.  On 
December  16,  less  than  a  week  after  Congress  closed  its 
sessions  in  Philadelphia  to  go  to  Baltimore,  Morris  wrote 
to  the  Committee  of  Secret  Correspondence  in  his  direct 
and  forcible  style :  "  If  Congress  mean  to  succeed  in  this 
contest,  they  must  pay  good  executive  men  to  do  their 
business  as  it  ought  to  be  done,  and  not  lavish  millions 
away  by  their  own  mismanagement."  It  was  "  misman 
agement,"  he  said,  and  would  continue  to  be  this  because 
no  member  of  Congress  could  attend  its  meetings  and 
serve  the  country  as  an  executive  officer  at  the  same  time. 
"  I  do  aver,"  he  continued,  "  that  there  will  be  more  money 
lost,  totally  lost  in  horses,  wagons,  cattle,  etc.,  for  want  of 
sufficient  numbers  of  proper  persons  to  look  after  them, 
than  would  have  paid  all  the  salaries  Paine  ever  did  or 
ever  will  grumble  at."  Thomas  Paine,  who  had  made 
himself  a  character  of  some  public  influence  since  he  had 
published  his  inflammatory  pamphlet  called  "  Common 
Sense,"  especially  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  looked 
upon  as  in  some  respects  the  father  of  that  state's  pecul 
iar  constitution,  had  come  forward  now  as  a  kind  of 
watch-dog  of  the  Treasury,  although  his  begging  appeals 
for  employment,  frequently  received  by  Washington  and 
Morris  during  the  next  few  years,  constituted  him  a  not 
very  inspiring  figure  in  the  role  of  economist. 

Mr.  Morris  wrote  about  the  same  time  to  the  Commis 
sioners  in  France:  "I  will  not  enter  into  any  detail  of 
our  conduct  in  Congress,  but  you  may  depend  on  this,  that 
so  long  as  that  respectable  body  persists  in  the  attempt 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          35 

to  execute  as  well  as  to  deliberate  on  their  business,  it 
never  will  be  done  as  it  ought,  and  this  has  been  urged 
many  and  many  a  time  by  myself  and  others,  but  some  of 
them  do  not  like  to  part  with  power  and  pay  others  for 
doing  what  they  cannot  do  themselves."  The  wisdom  of 
Mr.  Morris's  recommendations  was  justified  by  later 
events.  It  was  only  by  taking  the  colonies'  affairs  out 
of  the  hands  of  boards  and  giving  them  over  to  responsi 
ble  individuals,  that  the  war  was  brought  to  a  successful 
close ;  only  when  single  ambassadors  superseded  commis 
sions  in  Europe  and  chiefs  of  departments  took  the  place 
of  administrative  boards  at  home,  that  the  enemy  lost 
hope  and  agreed  to  a  treaty  of  peace. 

Mr.  Morris  remained  at  his  post  in  Philadelphia 
through  a  very  trying  and  uncertain  period.  His  wife 
and  children  had  followed  Congress  southward,  taking 
refuge  with  Mrs.  Hall,  her  stepsister  in  Maryland. 
"  Having  got  my  family  and  books  removed  to  a  place 
of  safety,"  he  wrote,  "  my  mind  is  more  at  ease,  and  my 
time  is  now  given  up  to  the  public,  although  I  have 
many  thousand  pounds  worth  of  effects  here  without 
any  prospect  of  saving  them."  He  told  Congress  that 
he  would  be  glad  to  finish  their  business  in  Philadelphia 
"with  General  Howe's  permission."  He  had  heard  that 
parties  of  British  soldiers  were  very  active  in  New 
Jersey,  having  come  so  near  as  Haddonfield,  only  nine 
miles  from  the  State  House.  There  were  rumors  of  the 
near  approach  of  the  enemy  by  each  bo.at  that  crossed 
the  river,  but  General  Washington  had  desired  him  to 


36  ROBERT  MORRIS 

remain  in  the  city,  and  promised  to  give  him  the  earliest 
possible  notice  of  any  movement  of  the  main  body  of 
the  British  which  was  likely  to  put  him  in  immediate 
jeopardy.  "I  have  throughout  the  alarm  been  deter 
mined  not  to  quit  until  fairly  done  off,"  he  says  again. 
"  At  the  same  time  I  have  been  constantly  prepared,  my 
things  packed  up,  horses  and  carriages  ready  at  any 
moment,  and  constant  means  of  intelligence  had  they 
approached."  Therefore  it  was  with  a  deep  sigh  of 
relief  that  he  heard  the  news  of  the  victories  at  Trenton, 
and  the  safety  of  the  city  brought  joy  to  Mrs.  Morris 
also,  who  from  her  retreat  in  Maryland,  on  learning  of 
the  Continental  success  over  the  Hessians,  wrote  to  her 
husband  as  follows :  "  I  hope,  indeed,  the  tide  is  turned, 
and  that  our  great  Washington  will  have  the  success  his 
virtues  deserve,  and  rout  that  impious  army  who  from  no 
other  principle  but  that  of  enslaving  this  once  happy 
country  have  prosecuted  this  cruel  war." 

In  February,  1777,  thinking  that  the  immediate  danger 
of  the  British  capture  and  occupation  of  the  city  was  past, 
President  Hancock  wrote  to  Morris :  "  I  hope  our  coming 
there  will  in  some  degree  relieve  you  from  the  great  bur 
den  that  has  laid  upon  you.  No  money,  constant  applica 
tion  for  it,  and  a  steady  succession  of  business  to  attend 
to  has  made  your  situation  hard  indeed.1" 

The  delegates  seem  to  have  hated  their  new  place  of 
abode  very  heartily.  Mr.  Morris  had  at  first  regarded 

1  This  period  is  illuminated  by  the  letters  to  Robert  Morris,  published 
in  the  Collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society  for  1878. 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          37 

their  flight  as  somewhat  hasty,  and  he  wished  that  they 
might  come  back  again,  and  they,  or  many  of  them,  were 
of  the  same  mind.  Benjamin  Harrison  wrote :  "  I  wish 
Congress  would  move  back  with  all  my  heart,  for  I  am 
most  horribly  vexed  with  this  place."  He  supposed, 
however,  that  they  could  not,  as  the  "Yankees"  were 
opposed  to  a  return,  and  they  ruled  as  absolutely  "as 
the  Grand  Turk  in  his  dominions."  Mr.  Hancock, 
though  he  was  a  Yankee,  and  the  President  of  Congress, 
complained  that  he  could  get  only  a  very  poor  house  in 
Baltimore  as  a  place  of  residence.  There  were  only 
two  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  and  one  of  these  he  was 
obliged  to  let  his  servants  occupy.  William  Hooper,  in 
February,  1777,  wrote  that  many  members  were  sick, 
and  they  "with  one  united  voice  ascribe  this  catalogue 
of  ills  to  this  place."  Congress  presented  "  such  a  scene 
of  yellow,  death-like  faces  that  you  would  imagine  Rhada- 
manthus  had  shifted  his  quarters,  and  was  holding  court 
in  Baltimore."  But  when  the  congressmen  finally  passed 
their  resolution  to  come  back  to  Philadelphia,  Morris 
advised  that  they  remain  where  they  were  a  little  while 
longer.  It  would  not  be  prudent,  he  said,  to  return  too 
soon.  The  British  had  resumed  an  offensive  activity  in 
New  Jersey,  and  their  raiding  expeditions  during  the 
winter  extended  into  the  country  round  about  the  city. 
Hancock  appreciated  the  force  of  the  argument.  He 
discouraged  a  return  in  the  face  of  the  great  danger. 
"  Before  we  come  back  we  must  give  these  fellows  a 
good  trimming,"  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Morris,  but  the  dele- 


38  ROBERT   MORRIS 

gates  at  length  took  matters  into  their  own  hands,  and 
resumed  their  sessions  in  the  Philadelphia  State  House 
on  March  12,  1777.  Although  rumors  frequently 
alarmed  the  people  of  the  city  during  the  spring  and 
summer,  Congress  continued  to  remain  in  Philadelphia 
until  September,  when  riders  from  the  South  announced 
the  landing  of  the  British  army  on  the  shores  of  the 
Chesapeake.  It  was  marching  northward,  and  the 
books  and  records  of  the  government  were  hurriedly  put 
into  the  hands  of  wagoners  for  transport  under  guard  to 
Lancaster,  where  the  members  made  a  temporary  stand, 
moving  on  in  a  little  while  to  York.  After  the  battles 
of  Brandywine  and  Germantown,  and  other  engagements 
within  sight  of  Philadelphia,  the  enemy  settled  down  to 
spend  the  winter  in  the  Continental  capital,  while  Wash 
ington's  tattered  troops  found  refuge  in  the  snowy  hills 
at  Valley  Forge. 

la  the  meantime  the  new  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania, 
of  which  Morris  had  been  elected  a  member  in  the  pre 
ceding  November,  had  not  yet  been  able  to  organize  a 
state  government  which  the  people  would  obey  or  respect. 
The  factions  had  laid  aside  their  quarrel  long  enough 
to  elect  a  speaker  on  November  28,  but  the  alarm  at  the 
approach  of  Howe's  army  had  so  depleted  the  population 
of  the  city  that  from  December  14  to  January  13  no 
quorum  appeared  in  the  meeting  room. 

John  Dickinson  and  his  friends  had  refused  to  take  their 
seats,  and  writs  were  issued  in  February  for  new  elec 
tions  to  fill  their  empty  places.  There  was  a  provision 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          39 

in  the  Pennsylvania  Constitution  that  no  officer  of  the 
state  should  hold  two  offices  simultaneously.  Mr.  Morris 
was  still  a  member  of  Congress,  and  a  very  active  one 
on  a  commission  issued  to  him  by  the  convention  which 
framed  this  Constitution,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
Assembly.  His  fellow  assemblymen  reflected  him  to 
Congress  on  February  5,  and  this  was  the  signal  for 
the  speaker  to  declare  his  seat  in  the  state  legislature 
vacant.  This  and  other  vacancies  in  the  city's  delega 
tion  in  the  Assembly  were  filled  by  an  election  held  on 
February  21,  and  on  March  5  the  state  government  was 
organized,  Thomas  Wharton,  Jr.,  being  elected  President 
or  Governor,  and  George  Bryan  Vice-President  by 
means  of  a  rather  simple  ceremony  which  was  concluded 
by  a  procession  through  the  public  streets. 

The  Assembly,  after  this  evidence  of  its  vigor,  con 
ceived  that  it  might  with  propriety  adjourn,  but  on 
April  14  a  resolution  had  been  brought  into  Congress 
and  passed,  declaring  that  as  the  state  was  in  immedi 
ate  danger  of  invasion,  that  body  would  consider  it  "  an 
indispensable  duty"  to  supervise  the  government  of  the 
state.  "The  executive  authority  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania,"  Congress  said,  "  is  incapable  of  any 
exertion  adequate  to  the  present  crisis." 

James  Allen,  a  Tory  and  a  member  of  the  Allen 
family  which  had  made  itself  prominent  under  the  old 
proprietary  government  in  Pennsylvania,  wrote  in  his 
diary  at  this  sorry  period  :  "  The  government  of  this 
province  or  state,  as  they  term  it,  is  truly  ridiculous. 


I/ 


40  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Not  one  of  the  laws  of  the  Assembly  are  regarded.  No 
courts  open,  no  justice  administered.  A  new  justice 
issues  a  warrant  to  a  constable  under  the  old  govern 
ment.  Few  of  the  justices  elected  throughout  the  state 
accept  their  offices.  It  is  a  mockery  of  justice." 

We  have  it  on  the  authority  of  other  witnesses  to 
the  events  of  this  critical  time,  that  it  was  almost  im 
possible  to  find  citizens  who  would  accept  the  posts 
which  the  new  government  had  to  bestow.  Men  were 
"persecuted  to  accept  office,"  one  newspaper  declared. 
Three  out  of  five  delegates  representing  the  state  in 
Congress  were  opposed  to  the  Constitution,  and  one  of 
these  was  Mr.  Morris.  The  speaker  of  the  Assembly, 
John  Bayard,  had  presided  at  the  town  meeting  called 
to  take  measures  against  the  new  Constitution  in  the 
previous  October,  and  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly 
on  that  ticket. 

Assemblymen  resigned  to  take  county  offices,  and 
some  families  had  moved  out  of  the  state  rather  than 
live  under  such  a  government,  if  we  may  believe  their 
own  declarations.  A  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Board  of  War,  a  state  military  body  which  had  just 
been  created,  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  Constitution,  and  nine  out  of  ten  members  of  the 
Navy  Board  had  likewise  declined  taking  the  oath. 
Two  brigadier  generals  refused  to  accept  their  commis 
sions  from  the  state  President  and  his  councillors.  Two 
men  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  take  the  office  of 
prothonotary  worth  XI 000  a  year. 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          41 

While  the  Constitutionalists,  Paine  and  his  following, 
were  still  active  in  their  defence  of  the  Constitution,  as 
they  continued  to  be  for  fifteen  years  with  a  faith  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  the  devotees  of  some  reli 
gion,  the  flames  of  discontent  with  the  new  government 
now  broke  out  afresh  all  over  the  state.  That  the  gov 
ernment  was  "incapable  of  any  exertion  adequate  to  the 
present  crisis  "  and  on  the  testimony  of  the  Continental 
Congress  fretted  true  Pennsylvanians  who  felt  these 
things  with  a  sense  of  deep  disgrace  and  shame.  In 
May,  a  petition  of  which  Mr.  Morris  was  a  signer,  was 
presented  to  the  executive  authorities  of  this  unsatis 
factory  state  government  declaring  that  as  "  weakness 
and  languor"  were  apparent  in  every  part  of  it,  as  jus 
tice  was  not  regularly  administered  nor  the  laws  obeyed, 
and  as  prices  were  rising  to  an  exorbitant  height,  the 
Assembly  should  be  recommended  to  call  a  convention 
for  revising  and  amending  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Morris 
was  appointed  a  member  of  a  Committee  of  Correspond 
ence  to  send  out  and  distribute  through  the  counties  of 
the  state,  copies  of  a  memorial  which  it  was  hoped  the 
people  might  generally  sign,  declaring  the  "impracti 
cability  of  carrying  the  government  into  execution,"  and 
praying  the  Assembly  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to 
bring  the  scandal  to  an  end.  These  memorials  led  to 
the  preparation  of  counter  memorials  by  Paine  and  his 
group  of  radical  democrats,  and  the  Assembly  having 
been  reconvened,  resolved  in  June  to  take  a  middle 
course.  It  would  not  call  a  convention  unless  a  major- 


42  ROBERT   MORRIS 

ity  of  the  people  approved,  and  to  ascertain  their  senti 
ments  a  commissioner  would  be  appointed  for  each 
county  to  go  about  from  house  to  house  with  a  bag  on 
his  back  or  a  box  in  his  hand  to  collect  the  votes  of 
the  citizens,  and  determine  whether  they  were  satisfied 
with  the  Constitution  or  whether  they  wanted  a  new 
one.  This  vote,  however,  was  never  taken.  The  reso 
lution  had  scarcely  passed  the  Assembly  when  the  Brit 
ish  Army  directed  its  regiments  toward  Philadelphia, 
harrying  the  country  as  it  passed  along.  The  state 
government  repaired  to  Lancaster,  where  Congress  had 
also  sought  refuge,  and  where  Mr.  Morris  and  nearly 
all  the  rest  of  the  men  prominent  in  the  public  life  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  confederated  colonies,  gath 
ered  to  watch  the  gloomy  progress  of  the  war. 

Mr.  Morris  was  still  as  active  as  his  situation  would 
admit  in  the  committees  of  Congress  to  which  he  belonged. 
He  was  asked  to  take  the  Presidency  of  Congress  in  1777, 
when  John  Hancock  announced  his  intention  of  retiring 
in  order  to  return  to  supervise  his  extensive  business 
interests  in  Boston.  Morris,  however,  declined,  on  the 
ground  that  his  private  affairs  would  not  admit  of  his 
giving  any  more  freely  of  his  time  and  abilities  to  the 
public  service.1  The  Secret  Committee  changed  its 
name  to  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  then  to 
the  Committee  of  Commerce.  Mr.  Morris  continued 
with  it  throughout  its  many  difficult  operations.  By 
his  private  business  connections  he  was  able  to  arrange 
1  Hart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  II. 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          43 

for  exports  of  produce  in  exchange  for  imports  of  arms, 
ammunition,  and  general  supplies  needed  for  the  Conti 
nental  Army.  His  knowledge  of  finance  enabled  him 
to  extend  material  aid  in  many  ways,  and  important 
transactions  were  intrusted  to  him  personally  or  to 
the  house  of  Willing  and  Morris.  Coincidently  he  con 
tinued  to  carry  on  his  own  business,  and  extensive 
transactions  on  private  and  public  account  were  so  in 
separably  linked  that  unpleasant  charges  were  soon  cir 
culated  very  freely.  It  was  asserted  that  he  was  taking 
advantage  of  the  knowledge  he  possessed  because  of  his 
place  in  Congress  to  increase  his  own  fortune.  His 
enemies  went  still  farther,  and  declared  that  he  was  vio 
lating  embargoes,  that  he  was  hopelessly  confusing  the 
public  with  his  own  affairs,  that  he  was  making  large 
profits  in  exchange,  and  that  he  was  an  influence  to 
enhance  prices  artificially  so  that  the  government  as  well 
as  the  people  must  pay  more  for  the  necessaries  of 
life.  He  admitted  that  government  business  was  done 
under  cover  of  his  own  name  to  deceive  the  British  foe 
and  to  get  better  terms  of  purchase  at  home  and  abroad. 
A  seller  immediately  raised  his  price  if  he  suspected  the 
goods  were  being  bought  for  the  government.  This 
conflict  of  interests,  while  it  would  to-day  be  regarded 
as  quite  inadmissible,  was  justified  by  the  serious  plight 
in  which  the  colonies  then  found  themselves.  Practically 
defenceless  for  lack  of  good  governments  in  possession 
of  the  taxing  power,  or  a  public  credit  upon  which  to 
secure  loans,  or  well-developed  manufacturing  industries 


44  ROBERT   MORRIS 

upon  which  to  call  for  supplies,  or  even  a  united  popu 
lation,  it  was  a  time  for  unusual  expedients. 

The  Tories  were  always  busy  in  an  effort  to  create 
mischief,  and  the  Whigs  themselves  were  divided  into 
factions,  especially  in  Pennsylvania,  where  they  were 
constantly  striving  to  get  at  each  other's  throats. 
Secrecy  was  absolutely  necessary.  If  Congress  could 
drive  better  bargains  through  Mr.  Morris  than  without 
his  aid,  he  could  afford  to  wait  for  his  justification,  and 
this  came  to  him  afterward  in  abundant  measure.  His 
affairs  were  investigated  and  his  character  vindicated  by 
a  committee  of  Congress.  He  was  called  to  a  higher 
place  in  the  councils  of  the  Continent.  But  the  crowning 
vindication  was  the  uninterrupted  friendship  of  the  men 
who  knew  him  best,  of  Washington  and  Hamilton,  and 
those  whose  names  Americans  most  revere. 

Robert  Morris's  illegitimate  half-brother  Thomas  was 
now  causing  him  much  aggravation.  He  had  educated 
this  young  man  in  the  best  schools  in  Philadelphia,  and 
treated  him  as  his  own  son.  Thomas,  unappreciative 
of  so  much  good  fortune,  went  rapidly  to  ruin.  Early 
in  the  war  Morris  secured  his  appointment  as  commercial 
agent  at  Nantes,  where  he  was  to  represent  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  and  also  Mr.  Morris's  firm 
in  Philadelphia,  being  recommended  incidentally  to  ac 
quaint  himself  with  the  French  and  Spanish  languages. 
It  was  hoped  that  separation  from  his  evil  companions 
in  America  would  induce  better  habits.  His  brother 
meanwhile  supplied  him  with  money  and  did  him  the 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          45 

honor  to  trust  him  and  believe  in  his  reform  long  after 
others  had  abandoned  him.  His  conduct  of  the  office 
at  Nantes  was  so  irregular  that  it  called  forth  represen 
tations  to  Congress  from  the  American  Commissioners 
in  France.  Mr.  Morris  at  first  considered  this  as  an 
attack  upon  him  personally,  instigated  by  political 
enemies.  He  looked  upon  the  reports  to  Congress  as 
unfriendly  acts,  until  Deane  wrote  that  Thomas's  behav 
ior  was  "outrageous,"  and  Izard,  that  he  was  "a  dis 
grace  to  America."  Morris,  convinced  then  that  he  had 
been  unwise  in  his  defence  of  the  young  man  against 
the  criticisms  of  the  Commissioners,  free  to  admit  his 
own  mistakes,  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  President  of 
Congress.  "It  adds  very  much  to  the  distress  and 
unhappiness  this  unworthy  young  man  has  involved  me 
in,"  he  said,  "to  think  I  should  have  passed  censures 
on  Dr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Deane  which  they  did  not 
deserve.  I  did  it  under  a  deception  that  most  men  of 
feeling  would  have  fallen  into,  and  I  shall  as  freely  own 
it  to  them  as  I  do  to  you,  holding  it  more  honorable  to 
acknowledge  an  error  and  atone  for  any  injuries  produced 
by  it,  than  with  a  vindictive  spirit  to  persist  because  you 
happen  to  have  committed  it.  My  distress  is  more  than 
I  can  describe.  To  think  that  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
arduous  exertions  I  was  capable  of  making  to  promote 
the  interest  and  welfare  of  my  country,  I  should  be  the 
means  of  introducing  a  worthless  wretch  to  disgrace  and 
discredit  it,  is  too  much  to  bear." l 

i  Simmer's  Robert  Morris,  Vol.  I.  pp.  212-215. 


46  KOBERT   MORRIS 

Morris  recommended  Congress  at  once  to  dismiss 
Thomas  from  the  office  at  Nantes,  but  this  step  was  not 
necessary,  for  in  February,  1778,  the  Commissioners  wrote 
that  the  young  man  was  dead.  His  dissipations  had  ended 
his  unfortunate  and  misspent  career.1 

While  the  Congress  met  at  York,  Morris  seems  to  have 
attended  its  sessions  very  little  after  November.  On 
November  11,  1777,  he  wrote  to  the  Pennsylvania  state 
authorities,  requesting  them  to  grant  him  a  leave  of 
absence  for  six  months.  "  It  is  now  three  years  since  I 
have  devoted  nearly  the  whole  of  my  time  to  the  public 
service,"  he  declared,  "and  I  have  almost  entirely  neg 
lected  my  own  affairs."  Owing  to  this  neglect,  he 
added,  they  had  "run  into  a  good  deal  of  confusion." 
He  promised  at  the  same  time,  if  the  vacation  were  granted, 
to  settle  up  the  accounts  of  the  Secret  Committee.  He 
would  still  repair  to  Congress  whenever  the  public 
business  with  which  he  had  been  heretofore  closely  con 
nected  seemed  to  require  his  attendance  at  the  sessions. 
This  leave  of  absence  was  extended  to  Mr.  Morris  by 
the  Council  of  Safety  to  which  he  directed  his  letter, 
and  the  body  expressed  itself  as  "  fully  sensible "  of  the 
importance  of  his  services  and  the  justice  of  his  request. 
Before  he  was  allowed  to  retire,  however,  Congress  called 
upon  him  to  go  to  camp  with  two  other  delegates,  Mr. 
Gerry  and  Mr.  Jones.  This  committee  was  to  visit 
General  Washington,  and  urge  upon  him  the  advantages 
of  conducting  a  winter  campaign  against  the  British  Army 
.  of  Henry  Laurens  of  S.C.,  New  York,  1861,  p.  71. 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          47 

in  Philadelphia.  While  the  mission  was  undertaken, 
consuming  some  weeks  of  the  time  which  Morris  had 
set  aside  for  himself,  it  lacked  practical  outcome.  The 
condition  of  Washington's  battalions  was  not  such  as  to 
fit  them  for  a  winter  campaign,  and  Congress  was  in 
formed  of  this  very  soon,  when  the  committee  returned 
to  York  and  made  a  report  upon  the  state  of  affairs  at 
Valley  Forge. 

Congress  at  this  time  was  a  much  weaker  body  than 
ever  before  in  its  history.  The  abler  men  who  were 
called  to  the  new  nation's  councils  when  independence 
was  declared,  like  Morris,  had  so  long  neglected  their 
private  affairs,  that  they  were  seeking  relief  from  the 
burdens  of  public  service.  The  number  of  members  in 
attendance  at  the  meetings  was  so  much  reduced  that  an 
appeal  was  sent  out  to  the  states  to  fill  up  their  delega 
tions.  Factional  feeling  ran  high  among  those  who 
remained.  The  principal  work  during  the  first  few 
weeks  of  the  sessions  at  York  was  the  adoption  of  the 
ill-starred  Articles  of  Confederation,  by  which  it  was 
hoped  to  bring  the  states  together  into  a  permanent 
union.  Morris  was  present  during  the  debates  on  the 
articles,  and  he  led  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  in  sign 
ing  the  instrument,  the  weakness  of  which,  after  it  went 
into  force  in  1781,  he  was  the  first  to  perceive. 

When  his  leave  of  absence  had  expired,  Mr.  Morris 
again  made  his  appearance  in  Congress.  By  this  time 
the  British  had  evacuated  Philadelphia,  and  the  delegates 
returned  to  their  old  meeting-place  to  find  the  marks 


48  ROBERT   MORRIS 

of  a  hostile  army  impressed  upon  every  part  of  the 
city.  Morris  was  reflected  to  Congress  for  the  fourth 
time  in  December,  1777.  He  was  still  the  principal  fiscal 
agent  for  the  Continent.  He  provided  Congress  with 
much  of  what  it  required,  even  to  a  few  thousand  quills 
needed  by  the  clerks  in  the  government  offices,  and 
large  contracts  for  arms  and  rations  and  other  war  sup 
plies  were  passing  through  his  hands  constantly.  His 
ships,  from  the  time  the  war  broke  out,  had  done  a  great 
deal  of  privateering.  They  captured  many  British  mer 
chantmen  and  brought  them  into  port,  the  proceeds  being 
divided  among  the  owners  and  the  crews.  A  censorious 
diarist  of  the  time  remarked  that  he  could  always  tell 
from  Mr.  Morris's  great  round  face  whether  his  ships 
had  lately  made  any  captures.  It  wore  a  contented 
smile  whenever  his  captains  came  in  with  British  booty. 
The  truth  is,  however,  that  Morris,  like  Franklin,  dis 
liked  this  licensed  buccaneering  by  privateers.  He  re 
garded  it  as  defensible  only  because  the  colonies  lacked 
a  strong  navy,  in  which  case  it  became  a  national  service 
for  private  owners  to  fit  out  their  own  vessels  and  send 
them  to  sea  to  harry  the  enemy's  commerce. 

The  state  of  public  opinion  on  financial  questions  at 
this  time  was  crude  to  the  last  extreme.  Great  sums 
of  paper  money  had  been  issued  both  by  Congress  and 
the  separate  states.  It  was  imagined,  it  seems,  that 
mere  patriotic  sentiment  would  give  value  to  such  a  cur 
rency,  and  induce  men  to  accept  it  for  the  value  that 
was  printed  on  its  face.  Even  Washington  wanted  to 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          49 

see  all  men  gibbeted  as  "  murderers  of  our  cause  "  who 
exerted  themselves,  as  he  said  many  did,  to  depreciate 
the  currency  and  to  raise  the  prices  of  commodities. 
To  prevent  these  results  various  ineffective  legal  meas 
ures  were  taken.  To  keep  the  paper  issues  in  circula 
tion  tender  laws  were  passed,  and  for  violations  of  these 
laws  rough  penalties  were  often  prescribed.  Those  who 
refused  to  take  the  paper  at  the  worth  of  specie  sub 
jected  themselves  to  severe  punishments.  (JVVhile  the 
value  of  the  paper  money  was  to  be  maintained  by  arti 
ficial  means,  artificial  methods  were  also  relied  upon  to 
keep  down  the  prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Con 
ventions  were  held,  at  which  schedules  of  prices  were 
adopted,  and  committees  were  created  to  see  that  the 
will  of  the  conventions  was  enforced.  Whoever  sold 
goods  above  the  rate  which  had  been  fixed  upon  as  the 
upper  limit  of  justice  by  the  convention  would  be  made 
to  suffer  for  it.)  Many  dealers  were  thus  proscribed  and 
driven  out  of  the  community  in  which  they  tried  to 
carry  on  trade.  They  were  fortunate  indeed,  if  they 
escaped  actual  bodily  harm  from  the  angry  populace. 
These  price  schedules  were  aimed  at  forestalling  or  en 
grossment,  terms  in  familiar  use  at  the  time  to  describe 
an  act  which  is  known  to-day  as  "  cornering  "  the  market. 
There  were  men,  it  was  alleged,  who  held  a  stock  of 
merchantable  supplies  with  which  they  refused  to  part, 
except  at  monopoly  prices.  These  extortionists  were 
confused  in  the  public  mind  with  the  Tories,  and  in  1778, 
1779,  and  1780,  when  the  evils  of  inconvertible  paper 


50  ROBERT  MORRIS 

had  reached  their  height,  many  of  the  offenders,  and 
those  who  were  suspected  of  offending,  came  off  very 
badly.  The  tar  pot  and  feather  bag,  and  many  worse 
indignities  awaited  them.  There  was  so  little  appre 
ciation  of,  or  respect  for  the  rights  of  the  merchant 
that  he  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  follow  the  ordinary  course 
of  business  and  get  the  best  price  he  could  for  the  goods 
he  wanted  to  sell,  nor  was  any  kind  of  speculation  to  be 
permitted  him,  such  as  would  be  implied  by  storing 
his  goods  until,  in  his  judgment,  the  most  favorable 
moment  had  come  for  disposing  of  them.  The  prices  of 
wood,  hay,  lumber,  leather,  textile  fabrics,  meat,  flour  — 
all  were  to  be  regulated  by  legislature.  For  a  dealer 
to  hold  his  goods  when  the  people  wanted  them  proved 
to  be  a  very  troublesome  practice,  not  only  to  the  poor 
when  they  must  buy  the  necessaries  of  life  with  the 
almost  worthless  paper  money,  but  also  to  the  states  in 
laying  in  their  quotas  of  supplies  for  the  Continental 
army.  The  legislatures  and  conventions  were  convinced 
that  such  "  monopolists,"  as  they  considered  them  to  be, 
were  in  existence,  and  were  plying  their  business  to  the 
public  and  private  disadvantage,  and  they  therefore 
enacted  a  great  variety  of  laws  which  were  extremely 
embarrassing  to  legitimate  trade. 

Another  device  of  the  same  general  character  was  the 
embargo,  the  assemblies  of  the  different  states  passing 
laws  to  prohibit  the  shipment  of  various  kinds  of  produce 
into  other  states  or  to  foreign  countries.  By  holding 
whatever  a  state  produced  within  that  state,  it  was 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          51 

argued  that  prices  could  be  kept  down  to  a  more  reason 
able  level.  Such  regulations  to  prevent  a  free  move 
ment  of  goods  from  one  state  to  another  led  to  jealousy 
and  distrust  among  the  different  colonies,  and  paralyzed 
commerce,  which,  if  it  had  been  allowed  to  proceed  in 
the  regular  way,  might  have  been  a  source  of  strength 
to  the  country  at  a  time  when  it  was  sorely  needed/  Mr. 
Morris  vigorously  protested  against  all  these  artificial 
devices  to  give  value  to  a  worthless  currency,  to  fix 
prices  by  a  tariff  which  any  body  of  men  might  estab 
lish,  and  to  prevent  the  free  exchange  of  merchandise 
by  embargoes.  \ 

In  1778  Morris's  term  in  Congress  again  expired,  and 
he  could  not  be  reflected.  He  had  been  four  times 
chosen  to  represent  Pennsylvania,  once  by  the  old  pro 
prietary  Assembly,  once  by  the  Constitutional  Conven 
tion  of  1776,  and  twice  by  the  state  legislature.  By 
the  very  democratic  Pennsylvania  Constitution  no  one 
could  hold  office  for  more  than  two  terms,  and  Morris 
was  now  compelled  to  step  aside.  At  the  autumn  elec 
tions  in  1778  he  was  at  once  returned  to  the  legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  from  Philadelphia  city  on  the  Anti- 
constitutional  ticket.  This  was  a  very  exciting  session, 
as  the  movement  for  submitting  the  question  of  a  revision 
of  the  Constitution  to  the  people  of  the  state  then  again 
reached  its  culmination,  and  Morris  was  active  in  seeking 
the  overthrow  of  the  government.  When  he  entered 
the  legislature  he  declined  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Constitution  except  in  a  conditional  way.  He 


52  ROBERT   MORRIS 

was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Republican  Society  in 
Philadelphia,  which  existed  to  combat  the  Constitutional 
party,  and  his  prominence  in  this  movement  made  him 
many  enemies  among  the  common  people,  who  regarded 
the  Constitution  of  1776  as  in  a  sense  the  palladium 
of  their  particular  liberties.  It  was  in  this  way,  in  the 
year  1778-1779,  that  Mr.  Morris  became  the  object 
of  a  most  disagreeable  attack.  He  was  accused  of  vio 
lating  some  of  the  price  conventions  and  embargoes. 
In  addition  to  this  local  squabble,  he  had  become  mixed 
up  in  the  bitter  quarrel  between  Silas  Deane  and  Arthur 
Lee,  and  taking  Deane's  side  of  the  controversy,  he  was 
not  at  a  loss  for  troublesome  enemies  for  the  rest  of  the 
war.  Deane  had  been  sent  to  France  by  Mr.  Morris's 
secret  committee  early  in  the  war,  to  purchase  supplies 
for  the  colonies.  He  at  the  same  time  was  interested 
in  some  of  Morris's  private  business  ventures.  Congress 
was  finally  induced  to  recall  him  as  one  of  its  representa 
tives  in  Europe,  and  two  parties  at  once  appeared  on 
the  scene,  those  friendly  to  Deane,  and  those  opposed 
to  him,  the  latter  working  under  inspiration  from  Lee's 
contemptible  mind.  Paine  and  the  extreme  democrats 
took  up  Lee's  cause,  and  Washington  and  Morris  and 
Hamilton  were  recognized  to  belong  to  the  other  party. 
The  newspapers  were  filled  with  Paine's  articles,  and 
he  published  charges  about  Deane  which  were  most  abu 
sive  in  character,  soon  involving  Mr.  Morris  in  the 
controversy. 

The  attack  began  early  in  1779,  and  it  was  so  vigorous 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          53 

that  it  forced  Morris  to  make  public  replies.  It  was 
alleged  that  he  had  not  settled  his  accounts  with  Congress, 
although  he  had  had  the  books  of  the  Secret  Committee 
in  his  possession  for  several  months,  and  that  he  had  con 
fused  the  public  with  his  private  monies.  Mr.  Morris 
said  that  he  had  twice  settled  the  accounts  of  the  firm  of 
Willing  and  Morris,  and  upon  the  last  occasion  Congress 
owed  them  a  balance,  so  that  it  could  avail  the  public 
little  to  press  for  a  final  reckoning.  The  matter  came 
into  Congress.  Henry  Laurens  there  made  insinuations 
which  implied  an  irregularity  on  Mr.  Morris's  part,  while 
he  had  been  so  prominently  connected  with  the  commit 
tees.  Morris  thereupon  wrote  to  Congress,  asking  for  an 
investigation  as  to  his  official  conduct.  He  desired  that 
the  books  of  the  Secret  Committee  might  be  thoroughly 
examined  with  respect  to  the  entries  and  settlements  in 
volving  himself  and  his  firm,  so  that  Congress  and  the 
public  might  know  the  truth  about  them.  The  committee 
having  been  appointed,  its  investigations  proceeded,  and  it 
at  length  made  the  following  report:  "Your  committee 
are  of  opinion  that  the  said  Robert  Morris,  has  clearly  and 
fully  vindicated  himself,  and  your  committee  are  further  of 
opinion  that  the  said  Robert  Morris  in  the  execution 
of  the  powers  committed  to  him  by  the  said  Secret  Com 
mittee,  has  acted  with  fidelity  and  integrity,  and  an 
honorable  zeal  for  the  happiness  of  his  country."  At 
this  time  John  Jay  was  the  President  of  Congress,  and 
he,  on  February  15,  1779,  forwarded  the  report  to  Mr. 
Morris.  "It  gives  me  great  pleasure,"  he  said  in  an 


54  ROBERT   MORRIS 

accompanying  letter,  "to  transmit  to  you  an  unanimous 
act  of  Congress  of  the  llth  inst.,  not  only  acquitting 
your  conduct  in  the  transaction  it  relates  to  of  blame, 
but  giving  it  that  express  approbation  which  patriotism 
in  the  public,  and  integrity  in  every  walk  of  life  always 
merit  and  seldom  fail  ultimately  to  receive." 

The  whole  episode  profoundly  aggravated  Mr.  Morris's 
friends.  "I  do  not  remember  to  have  been  more  sur 
prised  and  provoked  at  any  event,"  wrote  General  Mifflin, 
"than  at  the  rascally  and  ill-managed  attack  against 
your  character.  The  attention  you  have  given  to  the 
public  business  for  the  three  last  years,  and  the  com 
mercial  sacrifice  you  have  made  to  your  country,  I  be 
lieved  would  have  placed  you  out  of  the  reach  at  least  of 
every  censorious  scoundrel ;  but  I  was  deceived.  Paine, 
like  the  enthusiastic  madman  of  the  East,  was  determined 
to  run  amuck.  He  sallied  forth,  stabbed  three  or  four 
slightly,  met  with  you,  but  missing  his  aim  fell  a  victim 
to  his  own  stroke,  and  by  attempting  too  much,  will 
enjoy  a  most  mortifying  and  general  contempt." 

This  affair  in  Congress  had  scarcely  blown  over  when 
the  un propertied  classes  of  Philadelphia,  of  which  the 
Constitutional  party  in  Pennsylvania  was  composed, 
singled  out  Mr.  Morris  as  a  monopolist  who  was  making 
himself  rich  by  taking  advantage  of  the  people's  necessi 
ties.  A  vessel  laden  with  dry-goods  had  arrived  in  the 
city  in  May,  1779.  Morris  was  interested  in  these  ship 
ments,  and  it  was  popularly  supposed  that  upon  their 
arrival  the  price  would  fall.  Instead  of  this,  when  they 


THE  MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          55 

were  unloaded  the  price  actually  rose,  and  a  town  meet 
ing  was  called  to  take  the  matter  under  consideration. 
Mr.  Morris's  late  colleague  in  Congress,  Daniel  Rober- 
deau,  presided  over  this  session.  Much  heated  language 
was  employed,  and  it  was  charged  that  Morris  had  vio 
lated  the  price  convention  and  that  his  dry-goods  were 
being  sold  above  the  tariff.  A  committee,  of  which 
Paine  and  other  prominent  political  opponents  were  mem 
bers,  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  him  and  demand  an 
explanation.  The  meeting  showed  a  most  unpleasant 
temper,  and  went  so  far  as  to  express  a  desire  that  Mr. 
Morris  and  others  who  were  the  enemies  of  the  common 
weal  should  be  banished  from  the  city.  This  officious 
committee  continued  its  activities  for  several  months. 
In  July  it  endeavored  to  prevent  a  shipment  of  flour 
which  Mr.  Morris  and  Mr.  Holker  the  French  Consul 
General  in  Philadelphia  had  purchased  for  the  use  of 
the  French  fleet.  It  was  charged  that  they  had  paid 
too  high  a  price  for  it,  and  that  as  it  was  not  all  in 
tended  for  the  French  fleet,  it  was  a  violation  of  the 
embargo  which  forbade  a  merchant  sending  goods  out 
of  the  country.  The  flour  was  actually  seized  and  de 
tained,  and  so  tyrannical  were  town  meetings  and  the 
committees  which  they  appointed  at  this  period,  that 
Paine  and  his  associates  must  be  treated  with  a  respect 
Mr.  Morris  found  it  very  difficult  to  command.  Another 
town  meeting  was  held  late  in  July,  and  General  Cad- 
walader,  who  attempted  to  make  a  speech  in  Morris's 
defence,  was  set  upon  by  a  mob  of  hoodlums  with  clubs, 


56  ROBERT  MORRIS 

whereupon  the  conservatives  seceded  and  organized  a 
meeting  of  their  own  under  the  chairmanship  of  Mr. 
Morris  himself  in  the  college  yard.  Here  resolutions 
were  adopted  acquitting  Morris  of  the  charge  of  any 
unpatriotic  action,  and  he  was  so  much  affected  by  the 
manifestations  of  friendliness  on  the  part  of  the  assembly, 
that  he  could  not  finish  the  speech  which  he  tried  to 
deliver.  Congress  was  obliged  to  intervene  before  the 
committee  would  release  the  cargo,  and  Morris  and  the 
other  merchants  of  the  city  finished  the  business  by 
signing  and  publishing  a  remonstrance  against  the  whole 
policy  of  price  regulation  by  mobs,  and  their  insolent 
interference  with  property  rights. 

It  was  a  time  of  the  most  unfortunate  animosities.  In 
July,  1779,  Silas  Deane  wrote :  "  It  may  at  this  instant  be 
truly  said  that  there  are  few  unhappier  cities  on  the  globe 
than  Philadelphia ;  the  reverse  of  its  name  is  its  present 
character.  It  is  a  melancholy  reflection  to  think  that 
whilst  our  common  enemy  is  wasting  our  seacoasts  and 
laying  our  fairest  and  most  peaceable  towns  in  ashes,  we 
are  quarrelling  among  ourselves,  and  can  scarcely  be 
constrained  from  plunging  our  swords  in  each  other's 
bosoms." 

Morris  finished  his  term  in  the  legislature,  and  was  not 
reflected,  the  Anti-constitutionalists  having  won  the  vic 
tory,  in  1779,  nor  was  he  sent  back  to  Congress.  For 
the  first  time  since  the  war  began  he  held  no  public 
office.  He,  however,  was  not  indifferent  to  the  course 
of  public  affairs.  Judge  Richard  Peters,  who  was  at  the 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          57 

head  of  the  Board  of  War,  testifies  that  Mr.  Morris 
during  this  period  frequently  purchased  supplies  for  the 
army  on  his  own  credit.  It  was  in  1779  or  1780,  two 
of  the  most  distressing  years  of  the  Revolution,  that  he 
came  to  the  government's  aid  in  a  most  practical  way  in  a 
grave  emergency.  General  Washington  had  written  to 
the  Board  of  War  urging  it  to  furnish  him  with  military 
supplies.  He  particularly  required  musket  cartridges, 
but  there  was  no  lead  of  which  to  make  them.  The  lead 
spouting  on  houses,  lead  pipe,  and  every  other  conceiv 
able  supply  of  the  metal  had  been  melted,  and  it  was  then 
selling  at  about  fifty  cents  a  pound.  It  was  at  a  dinner 
given  by  the  Spanish  minister  in  Philadelphia  to  some  of 
the  heads  of  government,  ambassadors,  and  other  men  of 
station  that  Morris  and  Peters  met.  Peters  wore  his 
troubles  on  his  face,  and  Morris  asked  what  was  the  cause 
of  his  friend's  gloomy  appearance.  The  latter  replied 
that  General  Washington  required  a  certain  amount  of 
lead.  As  it  happened,  one  of  Mr.  Morris's  privateers 
which  had  just  come  to  port  carried  ninety  tons  of  that 
metal  as  ballast.  He  at  once  placed  it  at  the  disposition 
of  the  government.  Leaving  the  entertainment,  Morris 
and  Peters  soon  put  a  hundred  men  at  work  manufac 
turing  cartridges.  They  were  busily  employed  all  night, 
and  in  the  morning  a  large  supply  was  ready  to  be  shipped 
to  the  army. l 

The  next  year,  the  pendulum  swinging  the  other  way, 
the  Anti-constitutionalists  were  again  victorious  in  Phil- 
1  Fisher's  "Revolutionary  Reminiscences." 


58  ROBERT   MORRIS 

adelphia.  In  the  autumn  of  1780  Morris  was  reflected 
to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly.  His  activity  in  parlia 
mentary  debate  was  never  so  great,  nor  was  it  ever  so 
necessary,  as  at  this  session.  The  condition  of  the  state's 
finances  were  such  that  heroic  measures  must  be  taken  by 
heroic  men.  Supported  by  General  Mifflin,  he  strove 
unremittingly  for  a  repeal  of  the  old  tender  and  penal 
laws,  nor  would  he  give  up  his  seat  in  the  legislature 
to  accept  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Finance  to 
which  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  early  in  1781  until 
his  purpose  was  accomplished.  He  spoke  forcibly  and 
eloquently  in  these  debates.  He  contended  almost  single- 
handed  with  the  whole  "  soft  money  "  host  who  still  had 
not  learned  that  a  currency  need  be  more  than  printed 
pieces  of  paper.  As  a  result  of  his  spirited  tactics,  in 
February,  1781,  the  Assembly  repealed  the  laws,  making 
the  issues  of  January  29,  1777,  and  March  20,  1777,  legal 
tender.  This  victory  was  no  sooner  gained,  however, 
than  the  advocates  of  paper  money,  on  April  6,  author 
ized  a  new  printing  of  £ 500,000  worth  of  bills.  Morris 
and  Mifflin,  having  exhausted  their  efforts  to  prevent  its 
passage,  aimed  to  have  the  measure  reconsidered,  and 
finally,  in  June,  a  tax  was  laid  to  assist  in  redeeming  the 
notes,  and  some  public  lands  were  sold  to  establish  a  fund 
from  which  to  provide  for  taking  up  the  issue.'  All  state 
laws  making  the  Continental  bills  a  legal  tender  were 
repealed,  and  all  laws  in  support  of  old  state  or  colonial 
emissions,  except  those  of  March  25,  1780,  and  April  6, 
1781,  were  accorded  the  same  treatment.  Fines,  penal- 


THE   MERCHANT   PRINCE   IN   CONGRESS          59 

ties,  and  public  salaries  which  had  been  determined  in 
terms  of  wheat  henceforth  were  to  be  reckoned  in  gold 
and  silver,  and  Morris  was  rewarded  for  his  exertions  by 
seeing  an  immediate  rise  in  the  value  of  the  state's  out 
standing  paper  money.  He  could  now  from  his  high 
place  as  Superintendent  of  Finance  point  to  the  Penn 
sylvania  system  as  one  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  the 
other  American  states. 


CHAPTER  III 

IN  THE   OFFICE  OF   FINANCE 

IT  is  often  said  that  the  years  1780  and  1781  were  the 
most  distressing  in  the  entire  course  of  the  war.  Among 
many  that  were  distressing,  it  may  be  difficult  to  discover 
which  were  the  most  so,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  financial 
situation  was  then  so  wretched  that  a  complete  collapse  of 
the  Continental  cause  would  have  occasioned  no  surprise. 
The  King  of  England  regarded  the  mismanagement  of  the 
American  finances  as  his  best  ally,  and  hoped  very  confi 
dently  that  he  would  gain  the  victory  over  his  rebel 
lious  colonists  when  they  could  no  longer  pay  or  feed  their 
troops.  It  would  seem  that  the  condition  of  the  states 
could  not  well  have  become  any  worse  when  Mr.  Morris 
was  called  upon  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  gov 
ernment  to  extricate  its  tangled  affairs.  The  paper  money, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  become  almost  worthless.  The  war 
thus  far  had  been  chiefly  supported  by  issues  of  Continen 
tal  bills  which  depreciated  in  value,  as  there  was  diminish 
ing  prospect  of  their  ever  being  redeemed.  In  1775 
Congress  had  emitted  $ 6,000,000  worth  of  notes  ;  in  1776, 
819,000,000;  in  1777,  $13,000,000;  in  1778,  $63,000,000; 
and  in  1779  no  less  than  $140,000,000.  The  utter  reck 
lessness  with  which  Congress  administered  the  affairs  of 

GO 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  61 

the  colonies  in  1779  is  almost  past  believing.  The  value 
of  their  money  fell  lower  and  lower.  Admittedly  by  the 
official  scale,  $30  worth  of  Continental  paper  in  1779 
was  worth  only  $1  in  specie,  and  after  the  act  of 
March  18, 1780,  was  passed,  by  which  Congress  practically 
declared  itself  a  bankrupt,  and  whatever  hope  of  final  re 
demption  still  remained  was  dispelled,  the  ratio  sank  so 
low  that  paper  almost  ceased  to  have  any  value.  Steps 
were  taken  to  try  to  stem  the  tide  at  a  ratio  of  30  to  1, 
75  to  1,  525  to  1,  and  other  arbitrary  figures ;  but  the 
currency  soon  collapsed  utterly,  and  it  was  used  to  light 
the  fires  under  offensive  Tory  gentlemen,  and  to  paper  the 
rooms  of  good  Whigs  who  wished  to  make  an  appearance 
of  luxury.  In  some  states  bundles  of  the  notes  were 
buried  with  dirges  and  orations  at  mock  funerals.  In 
Philadelphia  men  who  wore  the  bills  as  cockades  in  their 
hats  marched  in  a  procession  through  the  public  streets 
accompanied  by  a  dog  which  was  covered  with  a  coat  of 
tar  in  which  the  despised  pieces  of  paper  were  thickly  set. 
A  workman,  it  was  observed,  might  lose  his  wages  while 
he  was  earning  them.  A  merchant's  profits  were  wiped 
out  in  a  night.  /  The  government  fared  no  better  than  any 
private  individual,  and  when"  Congress  called  for  taxes,  it 
was  paid  in  its  own  money,  a  worthless  load  of  spawn 
from  its  own  printing  presses  which  would  buy  nothing 
for  a  suffering  army.j 

Christopher  Marshall  wrote  in  his  diary  in  June,  1779, 
that  he  had  to  pay  $80  for  two  silk  handkerchiefs.  Sam 
uel  Adams  went  to  a  shop  to  buy  a  hat,  and  the  tradesman 


62  ROBERT   MORRIS 

asked  him  $400  for  it.  Leather  breeches  were  quoted  at 
$300  the  pair  and  shoes  at  f  125  the  pair.  Fish-hooks  were 
selling  at  a  half-dollar  apiece.  "I  was  almost  deterred 
from  buying  any,"  wrote  a  member  of  the  Livingston 
family  to  a  friend,  "but  that  I  thought  you  and  the 
other  gentlemen  fishers  would  not  choose  to  be  totally 
debarred  from  the  sport  for  the  sake  of  a  few  dollars, 
especially  as  you  can  sell  your  trout  at  a  proportionable 
advance." 

There  was  so  little  to  be  got  for  such  money  as  came 
from  the  states  when  Congress  made  its  requisitions  upon 
them,  that  at  the  end  of  1779  calls  were  sent  out  foi>  spe 
cific  supplies.  In  lieu  of  money,  taxes  might  be  paid  in 
flour,  corn,  cattle,  meat,  or  some  other  commodity  which 
was  wanted  by  the  army.  Even  tobacco  would  be  taken, 
as  it  was  a  merchantable  product  which  could  easily  be 
sold  for  cash  in  Europe  when  shipped  there  on  Continental 
account.  This  system,  however,  plagued  Morris  exceed 
ingly,  as  the  cost  of  transporting  such  material  was  great, 
and  it  was  subject  to  rapid  deterioration,  spoiling  often 
before  it  could  be  used  or  sold.  In  one  storehouse  where 
grain  was  awaiting  public  orders,  it  was  said  that  the  win 
dow  was  open  and  forty  pigeons  were  preying  upon  it 
besides  ten  times  as  many  rats. 

The  states  were  so  heedless  and  disobedient  that  they 
were  not  paying  their  quotas,  even  in  Continental  paper 
or  specifics,  with  any  degree  of  regularity.  Congress 
once,  and  perhaps  more  than  once,  drew  upon  the 
states  at  thirty  days'  sight,  but  they  refused  to  honor 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  63 

the  bills.  When  Franklin  and  the  foreign  ambassadors 
were  drawn  upon,  they  bestirred  themselves  to  pay  the 
drafts  by  seeking  loans  from  foreign  governments,  and 
would  have  regarded  it  as  a  disgrace  to  the  nation  and 
a  destruction  of  the  public  credit  to  have  allowed  the 
paper  to  go  home  protested.  The  states,  however,  which 
were  the  pillars  of  the  system  of  government  in  America 
in  so  far  as  there  existed  a  system,  were  so  irresponsible 
and  impotent,  that  for  all  any  one  of  them  cared  officially, 
the  war  might  have  collapsed  any  day.  Through  them 
all  taxes  must  be  levied  and  collected,  and  when  they 
failed  to  provide  support  to  Congress,  little  seemed  in 
store  for  Washington,  and  the  great  characters  who 
were  carrying  the  war  on  their  own  shoulders,  but 
absolute  ruin.  It  was  not  that  there  were  not  patriots 
in  all  the  states.  The  great  body  of  the  people  were 
still  firmly  in  favor  of  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
The  newspapers  were  all  published  in  the  Whig  in 
terest,  and  a  Tory  found  his  lot  nowhere  a  pleasant 
one.  But  Congress  exhausted  its  powers  when  it 
made  recommendations.  The  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion  had  been  referred  to  the  states  in  1777,  but  they 
were  to  be  binding  on  none  until  all  thirteen  had 
adopted  them,  and  the  last,  Maryland,  did  not  accede 
until  March,  1781,  just  a  little  while  before  Mr.  Morris 
took  the  oath  as  Superintendent  of  Finance.  And  when 
the  Confederation  was  established,  Congress  was  as  help 
less  as  before.  The  states  in  their  turn  had  no  means 
of  compelling  the  counties,  towns,  and  smaller  political 


64  ROBERT   MORRIS 

units.  The  whole  country  was  passing  through  a  night 
mare  of  liberty  which  had  now  reached  its  apogee. 

Congress,  in  addition  to  the  plan  of  issuing  paper 
money,  which  was  an  insidious  form  of  theft,  though 
the  first  issues  were  made  in  a  kind  of  ignorant  good 
faith,  also  contracted  regular  loans  whenever  lenders 
could  be  found.  Commissioners  and  ambassadors  were 
early  sent  abroad  to  borrow  money  in  foreign  countries, 
either  from  governments  or  private  individuals.  They 
were  not  only  to  seek  the  actual  cash,  but  they  were  also 
to  buy  supplies  for  the  army  and  forward  them  against 
shipments  of  American  produce. 

(At  home   loan   offices   were   established,  and   all  who 
would   furnish    Congress   with   money  or   articles  which 
were  needed  for  the   public   service   were   given   certifi 
cates  of  indebtedness.  )  The  interest  on  these  loan  office 
j 

certificates  was  at  first  payable  in  France,  but  as  the 
war  wore  on  and  the  French  government's  dissatisfac 
tion  with  the  financial  management  of  the  Revolution 
increased,  it  refused  point-blank  to  send  any  more 
money  to  America  to  pay  the  interest  on  old  debts. 
The  French  pretended  to  be  much  surprised  that  their 
grants  were  being  used  for  such  a  purpose.  The  Ameri 
cans,  they  conceived,  might  themselves  take  care  of 
their  past.  It  was  singular  if  they  could  not  raise 
enough  in  taxes  to  satisfy  the  holders  of  domestic  loans 
when  France  was  bearing  nearly  all  the  current  burdens 
of  the  war.  In  its  desperation  Congress  had  turned  to 
a  lottery  as  a  means  of  raising  funds  to  support  the  cam- 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  65 

paigns,  but  there  was  no  money  to  reward  the  officers 
who  made  the  drawings,  and  no  money  to  pay  the  ticket 
holders  who  had  won  the  lucky  numbers.  The  enemy 
was  invading  the  South,  and  laying  waste  the  towns  and 
plantations.  The  southern  soldiers  were  fighting  in  their 
naked  skins.  The  French  allies  were  resting  motionless 
in  New  York  and  Rhode  Island,  and  Washington  had 
not  the  means  at  hand  to  carry  his  army  to  Virginia, 
where^he  had  planned  the  next  great  blow  against  the 
foe/  It  was  in  such  a  state  that  Mr.  Morris  found  his 
sadly  afflicted  country  when,  still  in  the  midst  of  a  par 
liamentary  battle  in  the  legislature  against  the  tender 
and  penal  laws,  he  was  looked  to  as  the  one  man  in 
America  whose  great  private  credit  and  financial  skill 
might  help  the  colonists  to  conquer  themselves,  and 
then  conquer  their  freedom  from  Great  Britain.] 

For  many  months  the  appointment  of  a  single  execu 
tive  head  to  supersede  the  old  Treasury  Board  had  been 
regarded  as  inevitable.  The  defects  of  the  system  of 
government  which  had  prevailed  up  to  that  time  were 
generally  perceived  by  those  of  clearest  sight  among  the 
Revolutionary  leaders.  None  realized  it  sooner  than 
Alexander  Hamilton.  He  expressed  the  wish  in  a  letter 
to  James  Duane  in  September,  1780,  that  the  different 
departments  of  government  should  be  consigned  to  the 
hands  of  single  men  who  together  might  make  up  a  kind 
of  executive  ministry,  and  suggested  Robert  Morris  for 
the  head  of  the  department  of  finance.  "  He  would 
have  many  things  in  his  favor,"  wrote  Hamilton,  "  and 


66  ROBERT   MORRIS 

could,  by  his  personal  influence,  give  great  weight  to 
the  measures  he  should  adopt."1 

There  were  others,  however,  who  wished  to  see  Hamil 
ton  himself  elevated  to  this  post.  At  least  one  member 
of  Congress,  General  John  Sullivan,  cherished  the  thought 
of  making  Washington's  aide  the  Financier  of  the  states, 
and  he  wrote  to  the  Commander-in-chief  about  the  project. 
To  this  letter  General  Washington  replied :  "  How  far 
Colonel  Hamilton,  of  whom  you  ask  my  opinion  as  a 
financier,  has  turned  his  thoughts  to  that  particular 
study,  I  am  unable  to  answer,  because  I  never  entered 
upon  a  discussion  on  this  point  with  him.  But  this  I 
can  venture  to  advance  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
him,  that  there  are  few  men  to  be  found  of  his  age  who 
have  a  more  general  knowledge  than  he  possesses,  and 
none  whose  soul  is  more  firmly  engaged  in  the  cause,  or 
who  exceeds  him  in  probity  and  sterling  virtue."2 

But  Sullivan's  plan  did  not  advance  very  far,  for  when 
next  he  wrote  to  Washington,  he  was  compelled  to  ex 
plain  that  he  found  the  eyes  "  of  Congress  turned  upon 
Robert  Morris  as  financier."  "  I  did  not  therefore  nomi 
nate  Colonel  Hamilton,"  he  adds,  "  as  I  foresaw  it  would 
be  a  vain  attempt." 

It  was  plain  to  Congress  that  the  man  whom  the 
country  needed  in  this  emergency  was  a  great  character 
in  the  business  world  who  possessed  credit  and  an  ability 
and  willingness  to  use  it  for  the  public  benefit.  On 

1  Hamilton's  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  159. 

2  Sparks's  Washington,  Vol.  VII.  p.  399. 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  67 

February  20,  1781,  Morris  was  elected  by  a  unanimous  / 
vote  to  the  new  office  of  Superintendent  of  Finance./ 
The  President  of  Congress,  Samuel  Huntington,  advised* 
him  of  the  event  in  the  following  note:  "Sir:  By  the 
enclosed  copy  you  will  be  informed  that  Congress  have 
been  pleased  unanimously  to  elect  you,  sir,  to  the  im 
portant  office  of  Superintendent  of  Finances.  It  is  hoped 
that  this  important  call  of  your  country  will  be  received 
by  you,  sir,  as  irresistible.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with 
sentiments  of  esteem  and  regard,  your  most  obedient  and 
very  humble  servant,"  etc.  Mr.  Morris  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  this  letter  in  a  few  days,  expressing  his 
reluctance  to  accept  the  office,  since  it  was  his  inclination 
at  his  time  of  life  to  seek  relaxation  and  ease.  His 
private  affairs  claimed  a  large  share  of  his  attention.  He 
was  still  busy  in  the  public  line  in  the  Assembly  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  on  no  condition  would  he  leave  his  place  in 
that  body  until  the  currency  laws  had  been  reformed. 
He,  however,  agreed  to  heed  his  country's  call  if  Congress 
would  accede  to  certain  conditions.  If  he  accepted,  he 
must  insist  that  he  be  released  from  any  responsibility 
for  old  Continental  debts  now  piled  mountain  high. 
Congress  must  allow  him  to  continue  in  private  commer 
cial  connections  already  established,  and  he  must  be  left 
free  to  exercise  the  right  of  selecting  and  dismissing  the 
assistants,  clerks,  and  all  the  officers  needful  for  the 
administration  of  the  business  of  his  department.  Con 
gress  for  a  while  demurred,  and  stipulated  that  if  it  had 
not  the  naming  or  dismissal  of  officers  in  the  Treasury 


68  ROBERT  MORRIS 

department,  it  should  at  least  retain  the  privilege  of 
determining  how  many  assistants  should  be  necessary  to 
Mr.  Morris,  and  the  amount  of  salary  which  each  should 
receive.  Some  members  professed  to  fear  that  if  such 
extensive  powers  were  made  over  to  the  Superintendent, 
he  would  take  the  whole  matter  of  government  out  of 
their  hands.  They  suggested  that  he  might  have  designs 
upon  some  heads  of  departments,  or  even  General  Wash 
ington,  but  after  repeated  conferences  through  a  com 
mittee  appointed  for  this  purpose,  they  granted  him  all 
that  he  asked  in  his  own  immediate  department  as  well 
as  in  the  Commissary  Department,  requiring  as  a  safe 
guard  against  possible  usurpations  only  that  regularly 
commissioned  military  officers,  their  own  secret  service 
agents,  and  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  army  should 
not  be  within  his  range.  It  was  specifically  stipulated 
also  that  the  Superintendent's  extensive  powers  should 
continue  only  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

Finally,  on  May  14,  1781,  Mr.  Morris  definitely  in 
formed  Congress  that  he  would  accept  the  office  to  which 
he  had  been  elected. 

"  A  serious  conviction  of  that  duty  which  every  citizen 
owes  to  his  country,  especially  in  times  of  public  calam 
ity,"  he  wrote,  "will  no  longer  permit  me  to  hesitate 
about  the  acceptance  of  the  office,  although  I  must  again 
repeat  that  I  have  the  fullest  sense  of  my  own  inability. 
I  shall,  however,  strive  to  find  such  assistance  as  will 
enable  me  in  some  measure  to  answer  the  reasonable 
expectations  of  Congress,  to  whom  I  can  promise  for  my- 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  69 

self  nothing  more  than  honest  industry.  In  accepting  the 
office  bestowed  on  me  I  sacrifice  much  of  my  interest,  my 
ease,  my  domestic  enjoyments,  and  internal  tranquillity. 
If  I  know  my  own  heart,  I  make  these  sacrifices  with  a 
disinterested  view  to  the  service  of  my  country.  I  am 
ready  to  go  still  further,  and  the  United  States  may  com 
mand  everything  I  have  except  my  integrity,  and  the  loss 
of  that  would  effectually  disable  me  from  serving  them 
more." 

The  circumstances  connected  with  his  acceptance  of 
the  office,  Mr.  Morris  further  explains  by  an  entry  in 
his  Diary :  "  This  appointment  was  unsought,  unsolicited, 
and  dangerous  to  accept  of,  as  it  was  evidently  contrary  to 
my  private  interest,  and  if  accepted  must  deprive  me  of 
those  enjoyments,  social  and  domestic,  which  my  time  of 
life  required  and  which  my  circumstances  entitled  me  to ; 
and  as  a  vigorous  execution  of  the  duties  must  inevitably 
expose  me  to  the  resentment  of  disappointed  and  design 
ing  men  and  to  the  calumny  and  detraction  of  the  envious 
and  malicious,  I  was  therefore  absolutely  determined  not 
to  engage  in  so  arduous  an  undertaking.  But  the  solici 
tations  of  my  friends,  acquaintances,  and  fellow-citizens 
in  full  conviction  of  the  necessity  there  was  that  some 
person  should  commence  the  work  of  reformation  in  our 
public  affairs  by  an  attempt  to  introduce  system  and 
economy  and  the  persuasion  that  a  refusal  on  my  part 
would  probably  deter  others  from  attempting  this  work 
so  absolutely  necessary  to  the  safety  of  our  country  — 
these  considerations,  after  much  reflection  and  consulta- 


70  ROBERT   MORRIS 

tion  with  friends,  induced  me  to  write  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  dated  the  13th  of  March,  1781." 

The  envious  and  malicious,  whose  activity  Mr.  Morris 
had  anticipated,  were  not  long  silent.  Major  J.  Arm 
strong  wrote  to  his  father  General  Armstrong  as  follows  : 
"  Bob  Morris  sets  a  high  price  upon  his  [services,  and 
absolutely  refused  to  act  without  an  unqualified  right  of 
private  commerce,  a  power  to  displace  and  create  at 
pleasure  every  public  officer  who  stands  at  all  connected 
with  his  office  and  employment,  and  the  sole  authority  of 
contracting  for  the  various  supplies  of  the  army,  etc. 
Congress  gave  him  all,  like  a  young  man  just  come  to 
the  possession  of  a  large  but  intricate  estate,  who  after 
many  virtuous  and  great  efforts  to  clear  and  ascertain 
it  in  some  indolent,  wicked,  or  capricious  moment  grows 
tired  of  acting  for  himself.  4  Here/  says  he,  i  take  my 
papers  and  my  money,  but  allow  me  a  fair  subsistence. 
Do  with  them  what  you  will,  I  am  too  great  a  fool  to  do 
my  own  business.'"1 

Governor  Reed,  writing  to  General  Greene  a  little  later 
in  the  year,  said :  "  Mr.  Morris,  who  had  been  long  pur 
suing  a  gainful  traffic  from  which  others  were  excluded 
by  embargo  and  restrictions,  naturally  presented  himself 
as  combining  the  necessary  qualities ;  but  his  terms  were 
high,  and  at  first  blush  inadmissible.  He  claimed  a  right 
of  continuing  in  private  trade,  of  dismissing  all  Conti 
nental  officers,  handling  public  money  at  pleasure  with 
many  lesser  privileges  amounting  to  little  less  than  an 
lPa.  Mag.,  Vol.  V.  p.  107. 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  71 

engrossment  of  all  those  powers  of  Congress  which  had 
been  deemed  incommunicable,  and  which  we  have  some 
times  thought  they  exercised  with  rather  too  much 
hauteur.  However,  Mr.  Morris  was  inexorable,  Con 
gress  at  mercy,  and  finally  the  appointment  made  with 
little  relaxation  in  the  original  conditions  since  which 
the  business  of  that  august  body  has  been  extremely 
simplified,  Mr.  Morris  having  relieved  them  from  all 
business  of  deliberation  or  executive  difficulty  with  which 
money  is  in  any  respect  connected,  and  they  are  now  very 
much  at  leisure  to  read  despatches,  return  thanks,  pay 
and  receive  compliments,  etc."1 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  who  expressed 
their  gratitude  to  Mr.  Morris  for  having  undertaken  so 
difficult  a  public  task,  and  who  felicitated  the  country 
on  having  secured  his  valuable  services  at  so  difficult  a 
time,  and  these  expressions  came  from  men  whose  good 
will  and  cooperation  it  was  worth  while  to  possess. 
General  Gates  wrote  to  Mr.  Morris,  in  June,  "  Your 
taking  up  the  business  at  this  desperate  crisis  is  not  only 
the  more  honorable  to  you,  but  will,  I  am  satisfied  from 
the  circumstances  attending  it,  infinitely  promote  your 
success." 

Alexander  Hamilton  wrote:  "I  know  of  no  other  in 
America  who  unites  so  many  advantages,  and  of  course 
every  impediment  to  your  acceptance  is  to  me  a  subject 
of  chagrin.  I  flatter  myself  Congress  will  not  preclude 
the  public  from  your  services  by  an  obstinate  refusal  of 
1  Reed's  Reed,  Vol.  II.  p.  374. 


72  ROBERT   MORRIS 

reasonable  conditions,  and  as  one  deeply  interested  in  the 
event,  I  am  happy  in  believing  you  will  not  easily  be  dis 
couraged  from  undertaking  an  office  by  which  you  may 
render  America  and  the  world  no  less  a  service  than  the 
establishment  of  American  Independence.  'Tis  by  intro 
ducing  order  into  our  finances,  by  restoring  public  credit, 
not  by  winning  battles,  that  we  are  finally  to  gain  our 
object." 

Franklin,  Jay,  John  Hancock,  and  all  the  leading 
American  patriots  expressed  their  deep  satisfaction  at 
Mr.  Morris's  appointment.  "I  felt  a  most  sensible 
pleasure,"  wrote  General  Washington,  on  June  4,  1781, 
"when  I  heard  of  your  acceptance  of  the  late  appoint 
ment  of  Congress  to  regulate  the  finances  of  this  country. 
My  hand  and  my  heart  shall  be  with  you ;  and  as  far  as 
my  assistance  can  go,  command  it.  We  have,  I  am  per 
suaded,  but  one  object  in  view,  the  public  good,  to  effect 
which  I  will  aid  your  endeavors  to  the  extent  of  my  abili 
ties  and  with  all  the  powers  I  am  vested  with." 

But  the  Commander-in-chief  did  not  deceive  himself 
as  many  perhaps  were  prone  to  do  regarding  sudden 
transformations  in  the  finances  of  the  poor  and  war-torn 
states.  "  I  have  great  expectations  from  the  appoint 
ment  of  Mr.  Morris,"  the  General  wrote  to  a  congress 
man,  "  but  they  are  not  unreasonable  ones,  for  I  do 
not  suppose  that  by  any  magic  art  he  can  do  more 
than  recover  us  by  degrees  from  the  labyrinth  into  which 
our  finances  are  plunged." 1  No  one  had  been  more 
i  Sparks's  Washington,  Vol.  VIII.  p.  70. 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  73 

solicitous  than  Mr.  Morris  himself  to  disabuse  the  public 
mind  of  any  idea  it  may  have  formulated  of  his  own 
supernatural  powers.  In  his  letter  of  acceptance  to 
Congress  he  spoke  of  the  public  expectations.  "I  am 
persuaded,"  he  said,  "that  they  are  raised  on  a  weak 
foundation,  and  I  must  lament  them  because  I  foresee 
they  must  be  disappointed.  I  must  therefore  entreat 
that  no  flattering  prospect  of  immediate  relief  may  be 
raised." 

Although  not  yet  having  taken  the  oath  of  office,  Mr. 
Morris  had  no  sooner  accepted  the  appointment  than  he 
began  his  patriotic  exertions.  His  first  official  act  wa^ 
in  the  interest  of  a  bank.  As  a  means  of  aiding  the 
government  in  its  financial  operations,  such  an  institu 
tion  had  long  commended  itself  to  his  judgment.  Alex 
ander  Hamilton  had  frequently  urged  this  adjunct  of 
the  Treasury  upon  Morris,  though  so  large  a  capital 
was  contemplated  that  its  establishment  under  such  con 
ditions  at  that  time  was  rendered  quite  impracticable. 
Morris  did  not  deceive  himself  as  to  what  it  might  be 
possible  to  do  in  the  collection  of  funds  wherewith  to 
start  a  bank  on  its  useful  career.  He  had  already  had 
some  experience  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bank  which  he, 
his  partner  Thomas  Willing,  and  other  business  associ 
ates  in  Philadelphia  had  organized  with  a  capital  of 
£300,000  Pennsylvania  currency,  to  furnish  "a  supply 
of  provisions  for  the  armies  of  the  United  States." 
Morris  himself  had  subscribed  X  10,000  to  the  capital 
stock  of  that  institution.  It  remained  open  for  about  a 


74  ROBERT   MORRIS 

year  and  a  half,  and  rendered  substantial  assistance  to 
the  government.1  The  Financier  was  concerned,  how 
ever,  that  the  work  should  be  undertaken  on  a  larger 
scale.  He  wished  the  bank  to  have  a  national  charac 
ter,  and  on  May  17,  1781,  he  transmitted  his  plans  to 
the  President  of  Congress.  There  were  some  states' 
rights  men  who  doubted  Congress's  authority  to  charter 
such  an  institution.  James  Madison,  among  others,  did 
not  think  that  the  delegates  of  the  states  could  arrogate 
to  themselves  any  such  prerogative,  and  men  of  that 
political  view  were  quite  numerous.  Preliminary  to  the 
main  work  in  hand,  therefore,  Morris  wished  to  clear 
the  way  of  constitutional  obstacles,  and  of  the  Presi 
dent  he  asked  "  whether  it  may  not  be  necessary  and 
proper  that  Congress  make  immediate  application  to  the 
several  states  to  invest  them  with  the  powers  of  incor 
porating  a  bank  and  for  prohibiting  all  other  banks  or 
bankers  in  those  states,  at  least  during  the  war." 

The  next  subject  to  engage  the  attention  of  the 
Financier-elect  was  the  unhappy  situation  of  the  army. 
General  Washington  had  written  of  his  immediate  need 
of  flour.  The  troops  were  in  a  starving  condition, 
and  all  sources  of  supply  through  the  various  states, 
which  by  the  old  system  had  been  paying  their  taxes 
in  specifics,  had  failed.  Mr.  Morris  did  not  delay,  but 
heeding  the  call,  he  wrote  at  once  to  Thomas  Lowrey 
in  New  Jersey  and  General  Schuyler  in  New  York, 
requesting  each  to  procure  one  thousand  barrels  of  flour 
i  Simmer,  Vol.  II.  pp.  22,  24. 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  75 

and  forward  it  to  General  Washington  on  account  of 
the  Continent  at  once. 

"  Pressed  by  all  my  friends,  acquaintances,  and  fel 
low-citizens,  and  still  more  pressed  by  the  necessity,  the 
absolute  necessity  of  a  change  in  our  monied  system  to 
work  salvation,"  he  wrote  to  General  Schuyler,  "I  have 
yielded  and  taken  a  load  on  my  shoulders  which  it  is 
impossible  to  get  clear  of  without  the  faithful  support 
and  assistance  of  those  good  citizens  who  not  only 
wish  but  will  promote  the  service  of  their  country." 
He  then  made  his  appeal  for  the  flour.  "For  your 
reimbursement,"  he  continued,  "you  may  either  take  me 
as  a  public  or  a  private  man."  "I  shall  make  it  a 
point  to  procure  the  money,"  Morris  wrote  to  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  in  reporting  this  transaction,  "being 
determined  never  to  make  an  engagement  that  cannot 
be  fulfilled ;  for  if  by  any  means  I  should  fail  in  this 
respect,  I  will  quit  my  office  as  useless  from  that 
moment." 

Mr.  Morris's  third  step  was  to  write  to  Benjamin 
Franklin  asking  him  to  name  a  banker  in  Paris  who 
could  take  over  the  management  of  the  Continental 
finances  in  France.  With  this  banker  he  desired  that 
all  money  available  for  the  use  of  the  United  States 
might  be  deposited  and  made  subject  to  his  drafts,  the 
beginning  of  a  remarkable  system  of  international  finan 
ciering  which,  if  it  were  very  irregular  in  its  appear 
ance,  saved  the  colonies  many  times  when  ruin  stared 
them  plainly  in  the  face.  Still  "financier  elect,  but 


76  ROBERT   MORRIS 

that  is  all,"  he  wrote  to  Washington  on  June  15,  1781, 
even  though  he  had  actively  entered  upon  a  perform 
ance  of  his  duties.  He  declined  to  take  his  oath  or 
accept  his  commission,  for  by  these  acts  he  would  have 
forfeited  his  seat  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly.  "  It 
is  of  the  utmost  consequence,"  he  wrote  to  Washington, 
"  to  preserve  my  right  of  appearing  there  until  the  ten 
der  and  penal  laws  are  totally  repealed,  for  I  consider 
those  laws  as  destructive  of  all  credit,  even  amongst 
private  people  in  dealings  with  one  another."  He  now 
believed  that  the  battle  would  be  won  in  a  few  days, 
and  promised  "  before  long "  to  "  engage  in  the  duties 
of  my  department  with  all  the  energy  I  am  master  of." 
He  declared  that  it  was  his  intention  soon  to  repair  to 
camp  to  visit  the  Commander-in-chief  for  a  consultation 
regarding  a  more  economical  administration  of  military 
affairs,  in  which  reform  Washington  had  promised  his 
personal  cooperation.  "  My  objects,"  Morris  wrote,  "  are 
to  reduce  our  public  expenditures  as  nearly  as  possible 
to  what  they  ought  to  be,  and  to  obtain  revenues  in 
our  own  country  to  meet  these  expenses  as  nearly 
as  can  be ;  then  to  show  foreign  nations  engaged  in  the 
war  that  we  must  look  to  them  for  the  balance." 

Finally,  on  June  27,  1781,  the  state  legislature  being 
about  to  adjourn,  he  took  the  oath  as  Superintendent  of 
Finance  of  the  United  States  before  the  Chief  Justice 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  his  extraordinary  administration  of 
a  singular  office  was  formally  begun. 

The    Office   of   Finance   was   at   first   established  in  a 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  77 

building  which  adjoined  Mr.  Morris's  own  home  in  Front 
Street,  but  in  a  few  months,  when  he  was  appointed  Agent 
of  Marine  and  assumed  additional  burdens,  all  the  books, 
papers,  and  furniture,  as  a  measure  of  economy,  were  re 
moved  to  the  Marine  Office,  also  in  Front  Street.  Here 
they  remained  in  the  house  of  William  West  until  June, 
1782,  when  Morris  hired  the  store  of  Jacob  Barge  at  the 
corner  of  Market  and  Fifth  streets  in  proximity  to  the 
other  government  offices. 

The  Superintendent  appointed  as  his  assistant  Gouver- 
neur  Morris,  who,  a  few  months  before,  had  met  with  a 
distressing  accident.  While  driving  in  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia,  he  was  thrown  from  his  carriage  and  his 
ankle  was  dislocated.  The  surgical  practice  of  the  time 
was  such  that  the  limb  must  be  amputated  below  the 
knee,  and  he  was  compelled  thenceforth  to  use  a  wooden 
leg.  The  intimacy  between  the  Superintendent  and  his 
assistant  was  close  and  enduring.  While  of  the  same 
name,  they  were  not  related,  even  remotely.  Gouver- 
neur's  services  were  particularly  valued  by  his  chief,  not 
merely  because  of  his  sound  financial  views  and  his  wise 
counsel,  but  also  by  reason  of  his  familiarity  with  the 
French  language.  The  French  allies  with  whom  the 
Office  of  Finance  was  brought  into  frequent  contact 
knew  little  English,  which  was  the  only  tongue  Robert 
Morris  had  ever  learned  to  speak.  A  number  of  clerks 
and  copyists  completed  the  Financier's  administrative 
force  in  Philadelphia. 

The  promised  visit  to  Washington's  camp  was  not  long 


78  ROBERT   MORRIS 

delayed.  It  was  a  journey  made  with  two  purposes  in 
view  —  to  secure  the  Commander's  advice  respecting  the 
curtailment  of  needless  expenditures  and  to  arrange  for 
important  military  operations.  Congress  had  resolved  on 
July  31,  1781,  that  the  Superintendent  of  Finance,  with 
Richard  Peters,  of  the  Board  of  War,  and  James  Wilson, 
should  spend  a  few  days  at  Headquarters  with  a  view 
to  bringing  the  military  into  a  better  understanding 
with  the  civil  administration.  The  soldiers  awaited 
Morris's  coming  anxiously.  "A  little  of  the  true  cir 
culating  medium  of  gold  or  paper  struck  upon  a  golden 
foundation  is  only  wanting,  and  that  I  think  you  will  be 
able  to  create,"  wrote  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  an  aide 
on  Washington's  staff.  While  he  assured  the  Superin 
tendent  that  there  was  "no  scheme  of  economy  which 
you  can  propose  that  the  army  will  not  cheerfully  comply 
with,"  he  personally  was  compelled  to  ask  for  $20  or  $30 
in  specie  to  relieve  his  own  pressing  wants.  The  Finan 
cier  was  promised  a  warm  welcome  "  at  the  army  "  which 
he  would  find  in  the  field  "somewhere  between  Peeks- 
kill  and  Kingsbridge."1 

Leaving  Gouverneur  Morris  in  charge  of  the  office, 
the  Superintendent  of  Finance  and  his  two  companions 
on  the  journey  set  out  from  Philadelphia  on  August  7, 
by  a  circuitous  route,  to  avoid  intercepting  bodies  of  the 
enemy,  for  Dobbs  Ferry,  near  which  place  Washington 
was  encamped.  They  arrived  there  on  August  11  at 
about  ten  in  the  morning.  In  his  Diary  Mr.  Morris 
1  Collections  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.,  1878. 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  79 

writes :  "  His  Excellency  the  General  being  out,  we  did 
not  see  him  until  about  one,  when  he  returned  and  gave 
us  a  cheerful  and  hearty  welcome.  We  had  then  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  at  his  levee,  which  is  held  every 
day  at  Headquarters  from  half  after  one  o'clock  for  an 
hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half,  all  the  general  officers  of 
the  American  and  French  armies,  the  commanders  of 
regiments,  heads  of  departments,  and  such  strangers  as 
visit  camp.  We  dined  with  his  Excellency,  and  next 
day  Mr.  Peters  and  myself  had  a  long  conference  with 
the  General  relative  to  the  numbers  of  which  the  army 
should  consist  for  the  next  campaign,  and  the  means  of 
reducing  the  number  of  officers  and  augmenting  those 
of  the  privates.  This  conference  branched  out  into  vari 
ous  other  articles  respecting  departments,  expenditures, 
economy,  etc.,  etc." 

On  August  16,  Mr.  Morris  by  invitation  visited  the 
Count  de  Rochambeau,  the  French  commander,  at  his 
headquarters,  where  he  met  all  the  officers  on  the  Count's 
staff,  discussing  with  them  the  question  of  supplies  and 
the  necessary  arrangements  for  an  active  campaign.  The 
allies  had  been  resting  idle  ever  since  their  arrival  in 
America,  and  they  were  eager  to  get  into  action.  It  was 
generally  believed  that  Rochambeau  and  Washington 
would  mass  their  troops  in  front  of  New  York.  Word 
went  forth  that  this  movement  was  contemplated,  and  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  had  knowledge  of  Morris's  visit 
to  camp,  little  doubt  lingered  as  to  the  speedy  fruition 
of  the  project.  It  is  frequently  asserted  that  it  was  upon 


80  ROBERT   MORRIS 

the  Financier's  advice  that  Washington  changed  his  plan 
and  decided  to  make  a  sudden  descent  upon  Cornwallis 
in  Virginia.  Nowhere  in  his  Diary,  however,  does  Mr. 
Morris  allude  to  his  part  in  persuading  the  generals  to 
abandon  the  idea  of  an  attack  on  New  York.  It  has 
been  left  for  historians,  to  whose  testimony  it  may  be 
well  to  attach  not  too  much  serious  importance,  to 
attribute  this  turn  in  the  course  of  military  management 
to  the  Superintendent  of  Finance.  Washington  had  ex 
pressed  the  desire  to  carry  his  army  into  the  South  be 
fore  Morris  reached  the  Dobbs  Ferry  camp.  Nevertheless 
it  is  indubitable  that  it  was  the  Superintendent's  promise 
to  finance  the  movement  which  was  the  deciding  influ 
ence  in  favor  of  the  new  plan  of  campaign. 

While  at  Headquarters  Morris  received  applications  for 
money  constantly.  Congratulations  upon  his  accession  to 
the  office  were  accompanied  with  requests,  complaints,  and 
demands.  He  had  taken  150  guineas  with  him  on  his 
journey,  but  as  there  was  such  universal  want,  he  shrewdly 
observed  that  he  would  make  no  payments  whatever,  and 
returned  to  Philadelphia  with  the  sum  intact.  The  three 
men  had  departed  from  camp  on  August  18,  under  the 
escort  of  an  officer  and  twenty  light  dragoons,  who  left 
them  however  after  the  first  day  out,  and  on  August  21 
they  arrived  in  safety  in  Philadelphia. 

Morris  had  many  plans  in  his  mind  for  the  organization 
of  the  country's  finances,  but  for  the  time  all  must  be  held 
in  subordination  to  the  great  task  of  conveying  the  army 
under  secrecy  over  a  distance  of  several  hundred  miles  to 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  81 

Yorktown,  and  of  provisioning  the  regiments  during  what 
might  be  a  very  long  siege.  He  could  scarcely  think  of 
the  daring  scheme  except  under  his  breath,  so  essential 
was  it  that  no  suspicion  should  be  aroused  regarding 
Washington's  new  object.  Immediately  there  was  the 
greatest  activity  both  at  Dobbs  Ferry  and  Philadelphia. 
Too  much  zeal  might  be  as  fatal  as  treachery.  It  was  in 
the  highest  sense  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  movement 
that  the  British  in  New  York  should  have  no  intimation 
of  the  intention  of  the  troops  until  they  were  on  the 
march,  when  concealment  would  be  possible  no  longer. 
A  week  after  his  return  from  camp  Morris  wrote  to 
General  Washington  that  Philadelphia  was  filled  with 
strangers.  "  I  have  had  occasion  to  lament,"  he  remarks, 
"  that  too  many  people  have  for  some  days  past  seemed  to 
know  your  Excellency's  intended  movements."  His 
efforts  to  promote  the  success  of  the  campaign  were 
exerted  along  a  great  variety  of  lines.  He  offered  Wash 
ington  the  use  of  his  own  home.  His  family  "being 
chiefly  at  Springetsbury  "  their  absence  afforded  him  "  the 
opportunity  of  appropriating  my  house  in  town  to  your 
use."  Although  his  beds  had  gone  with  his  family,  he 
promised  that  Washington  should  himself  have  one,  and 
mattresses  were  abundant,  so  that  the  aides  could  make 
themselves  comfortable  upon  the  floor.  "  As  what  I  have 
cannot  possibly  be  appropriated  to  a  better  use,"  he  said, 
"  I  beg  your  Excellency  will  consider  and  use  my  house 
and  what  it  affords  as  your  own." 

It  was  but  nine  days  after  Morris  returned  to  Philadel- 


82  ROBERT   MORRIS 

phia  when  Washington  himself  appeared  in  the  city  at  the 
head  of  his  tattered  regiments  accompanied  by  Rocham- 
beau  and  the  French  troops  with  their  bright  banners, 
waving  plumes,  and  new  uniforms,  well  fed  and  properly 
disciplined,  in  striking  contrast  in  all  these  respects  with 
the  soldiers  they  had  come  across  the  sea  to  aid.  The 
arrival  of  the  army  was  the  signal  for  many  demonstrations 
by  the  people.  Morris  and  other  citizens  of  eminence 
went  out  on  horseback,  according  to  the  hospitable  custom 
of  the  time,  to  meet  Washington  and  his  suite,  which  in 
cluded  Count  de  Rochambeau,  Chevalier  de  Chastellux, 
General  Knox,  and  General  Moultrie.  They  were  at  once 
served  with  dinner  at  Mr.  Morris's  town  house  on  High, 
now  Market  Street,  which  became  their  headquarters  while 
they  remained  in  the  city.  Salvos  of  artillery  came  from 
the  ships  in  the  river,  as  the  leaders  of  this  combined 
movement  against  Cornwallis  awaited  the  various  courses 
at  this  sumptuous  feast.  Count  de  Grasse  had  informed 
Washington  and  Rochambeau  that  he  feared  his  fleet 
could  not  pass  over  the  bar  at  New  York,  which  had  been 
another  weighty  consideration  to  deter  them  from  under 
taking  the  assault  upon  that  city.  Much  depended  upon 
the  timely  arrival  of  the  French  squadron  in  the  Chesa 
peake.  At  this  dinner  toasts  were  freely  drunk  to  De 
Grasse  and  the  safety  of  his  ships.  At  the  very  moment 
these  libations  were  being  poured  out  to  King  Louis's 
navy,  twenty-eight  sail  of  the  line,  one  ship  of  100  guns, 
three  of  84  guns,  nineteen  of  74  guns,  four  of  64  guns,  and 
one  of  50  guns,  were  passing  through  the  Capes,  but  such 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  83 

were  the  methods  of  communication  at  the  time  that  the 
banqueters  in  Philadelphia  were  not  to  know  the  news  for 
several  days  yet. 

In  the  meantime,  Morris  was  striving  with  all  the 
agencies  at  his  command  to  fulfil  his  promise  to  Wash 
ington  to  lay  the  troops  before  Yorktown.  The  Com 
mander-in-chief  had  made  a  number  of  requisitions  which 
must  be  met.  It  was  necessary  to  place  three  hundred 
barrels  of  flour,  the  same  quantity  of  salt  meat,  and 
eight  or  ten  hogsheads  of  rum  at  the  Head  of  Elk  for 
the  subsistence  of  the  troops  on  their  way  down  the  bay, 
for  it  was  designed  that  they  should  cover  the  last  part 
of  the  journey  by  water.  Supplies  of  provisions  were 
needed  at  other  points  along  the  route,  and  each  day  while 
they  were  marching  and  during  the  siege  the  men  and 
horses  must  be  fed.  Morris  also  required  boats  to  carry 
six  thousand  or  seven  thousand  men.  He  began  a  vigor 
ous  campaign  upon  the  state  governors.  He  looked  for 
assistance  from  those  states  which  were  contiguous  to  the 
point  of  attack,  and  which  would  reap  the  greatest  imme 
diate  benefits  from  this  attempt  to  clear  their  country 
of  the  enemy.  He  begged  Virginia,  Maryland,  Delaware, 
and  New  Jersey  to  make  the  cause  their  own.  Already 
on  August  22,  the  day  after  his  return  from  Dobbs  Ferry, 
he  had  addressed  the  governors  of  New  Jersey  and  Dela 
ware  as  follows :  "  The  exigencies  of  the  service  require 
immediate  attention.  We  are  on  the  eve  of  the  most 
active  operations,  and  should  they  be  in  any  way  retarded 
by  the  want  of  necessary  supplies,  the  most  unhappy 


84  ROBERT   MORRIS 

consequences  may  follow.  Those  who  may  be  justly 
chargeable  with  neglect  will  have  to  answer  for  it  to 
their  country,  to  their  allies,  to  the  present  generation, 
and  to  posterity.  I  hope,  entreat,  expect  the  utmost  pos 
sible  efforts  on  the  part  of  your  state."  "  Should  the 
operations  against  Cornwallis  fail  for  want  of  supplies," 
Morris  told  the  Commissary  General,  "the  states  must 
thank  their  own  negligence.  If  they  will  not  exert  them 
selves  upon  the  present  occasion,  they  never  will." 

He  called  upon  Delaware  and  Maryland  for  fresh  beef, 
salt,  rum,  salt  beef,  and  salt  pork.  He  urged  Virginia 
to  furnish  supplies  of  flour,  beef,  and  pork,  both  fresh 
and  salted,  tobacco,  hay,  Indian  corn,  and  other  forage 
for  horses  and  cattle.  He  made  Matthew  Ridley  his 
agent  at  Baltimore  for  securing  boats  and  supplies  in 
that  city  to  be  placed  at  Washington's  disposal.  Boats, 
if  they  could  not  be  obtained  on  other  terms,  were  to 
be  contracted  for  at  hard-money  prices  on  as  long  a  credit 
as  possible.  Despite  these  liberal  conditions,  great  diffi 
culty  was  experienced  in  inducing  owners  to  hire  their 
vessels  for  this  service,  as  urgent  and  important  as  it 
must  have  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  any  American  Whig. 
To  Ridley  Mr.  Morris  wrote  on  August  28 :  "I  should 
suppose  the  patriotic  inhabitants  of  Baltimore  would  make 
every  possible  effort  to  afford  assistance  on  this  occasion, 
and  certainly  if  they  have  a  due  sense  of  their  own  pri 
vate  or  public  interest,  they  would  even  find  vessels  for 
nothing  rather  than  not  seize  the  present  favorable  mo 
ment  of  clearing  Virginia  from  the  enemy,  opening  the 


r1-' 
IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  85 

navigation  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  setting  the  whole 
system  of  your  commerce  once  more  in  motion."  Not 
relying  upon  the  governors  alone,  he  despatched  letters  to 
members  of  the  legislatures  and  prominent  men  with 
whom  he  had  had  private  business  connections  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  soliciting  their  aid  and  influence  in  his 
work  of  laying  Washington  and  the  ragged  troops  before 
Yorktown.  He  threatened  the  states  with  military  col 
lections  if  they  were  so  unmindful  of  their  duty  that 
they  would  not  assist  their  country's  cause  in  this  grave 
hour.  His  appeals  were  not  in  vain,  but  despite  all  his 
eloquence,  transports  were  obtained  for  only  two  thousand 
men,  so  that  the  rest  of  the  army  must  proceed  more 
slowly  by  foot  to  the  seat  of  the  siege. 

But  this  was  not  all.  General  Washington's  coming 
to  Philadelphia  had  been  preceded  by  an  express  rider. 
Under  date  of  August  27,  he  had  written  to  Mr.  Morris  : 
"  The  service  they  are  going  upon  is  disagreeable  to  the 
northern  regiments,  but  I  make  no  doubt  that  a  dou 
ceur  of  a  little  hard  money  would  put  them  in  proper 
temper."  The  Financier  was  old  enough  in  office  thus 
early  in  his  administration  to  understand  the  full  meaning 
of  this  request,  but  without  knowing  from  what  source 
the  sum  should  come,  he  promised  to  procure  one  month's 
pay  in  specie  for  the  northern  troops  which  General  Lin 
coln  led.  While  pork,  flour,  and  rum  might  be  extracted 
from  the  states,  he  did  not  deceive  himself  with  the 
thought  that  any  state  could  be  persuaded  to  contribute 
gold  or  silver.  For  this  douceur  of  hard  money  he 


86  ROBERT   MORRIS 

pitched  upon  Rochambeau,  as  a  friend  in  need  who  might 
prove  himself  a  friend  indeed.  The  French  commander 
had  been  the  mark  of  all  the  social  attention  which  the 
Financier  out  of  the  depths  of  his  princely  disposition 
could  bestow.  He  had  lost  no  time  in  placing  himself 
in  the  closest  and  friendliest  relations  with  the  Chevalier 
de  Luzerne,  the  French  Minister  to  the  United  States, 
whose  legation  was  situated  in  Philadelphia.  He  for 
warded  a  pilot,  whom  out  of  his  own  experience  as  a  ship 
master  he  knew  to  be  trustworthy,  to  escort  the  French 
transports  from  the  Head  of  Elk,  and  afterward  to  obey 
the  instructions  of  the  French  fleet  so  long  as  Count 
de  Grasse  should  need  the  man's  services. 

While  Rochambeau,  the  French  Field  Marshal,  and 
generals  were  still  in  Philadelphia,  Morris  made  an  ap 
pointment  to  meet  them  on  September  5,  at  Luzerne's 
house,  to  arrange,  if  possible,  for  a  temporary  loan.  He 
asked  for  120,000  in  specie  until  October  1.  This  propo 
sition  was  not  received  with  enthusiasm  by  Rochambeau 
and  Chastellux,  who  declared  that  they  had  not  enough 
silver  with  them  for  their  own  uses.  Some  money  re 
mained  in  Boston,  but  that  was  six  or  eight  weeks  away. 
Silver  was  expected  by  Count  de  Grasse,  but  it  was  un 
certain  when  he  would  come  to  port.  In  no  case  could 
they  lend  the  sum  anyhow,  except  it  be  with  the  consent 
of  the  Intendant  and  Treasurer,  who  had  already  left  the 
city.  Morris,  to  obviate  this  difficulty,  volunteered  to 
accompany  Rochambeau  to  Chester,  where  he  calculated 
that  they  might  overtake  the  officers  of  the  French  ex- 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  87 

chequer  in  America.  They  all  together  set  out  upon 
horseback  the  next  morning,  the  Financier  being  accom 
panied  by  his  assistant,  Gouverneur  Morris,  whose  fluent 
use  of  French  greatly  forwarded  the  transaction.  It  was 
pointed  out  to  Rochambeau  very  clearly  that  the  move 
ment  upon  which  the  two  armies  had  embarked  might  fail 
totally,  unless  he  came  to  the  rescue  with  this  small  loan. 
In  the  midst  of  their  conversations  the  party  were  ap 
proached  by  a  rider,  whom  they  halted  with  the  inquiry 
as  to  his  destination.  The  man  explained  that  he  bore 
despatches  to  Robert  Morris,  Superintendent  of  Finance 
of  the  United  States.  "  That  is  my  name,"  answered 
Morris,  "  you  need  go  no  farther,"  and,  opening  the  letters, 
he  was  able  to  announce  to  the  delight  of  all  his  com 
panions  that  Count  de  Grasse  had  safely  brought  his 
squadron  into  the  Chesapeake,  whereupon,  the  Frenchmen 
parleying  no  longer,  assured  the  Americans  of  their  will 
ingness  to  lend  the  money  if  it  should  be  repaid  by  the 
first  day  of  October. 

Rochambeau  and  his  officers  asked  if  they  might  not 
hope  that  the  courtesy  would  be  returned  should  they 
later  be  in  need  of  funds.  Morris  did  not  conceal  the 
difficulty  of  his  situation,  but  "  as  to  my  own  part,"  he 
assured  them,  with  regal  magnanimity,  "they  might  on 
every  occasion  command  my  utmost  services,  assistance, 
and  exertions,  both  as  a  public  officer  and  an  individual." 

The  two  Morrises  returned  to  Philadelphia  with  lighter 
hearts.  On  their  route  back  to  the  city  they  met  the  last 
division  and  the  baggage  trains  of  the  French  army,  and 


88  ROBERT   MORRIS 

the  whole  expedition  was  now  well  forward  on  its  way  to 
join  Lafayette,  who  with  a  small  force  was  manoeuvring  in 
front  of  Yorktown  for  the  reduction  of  Cornwallis,  yet  in 
ignorance  of  the  daring  purpose  of  his  foe. 

But  the  money  was  yet  to  change  hands,  and  the  troops 
were  yet  to  be  paid.  Washington,  who  had  still  not  been 
apprised  of  the  Financier's  success  in  arranging  the  loan, 
wrote  from  the  Head  of  Elk,  where  he  was  rapidly  perfect 
ing  plans  for  the  transportation  of  his  soldiers,  urging 
Morris  to  activity.  "  Every  day,  "  he  says,  "  discovers  to  me 
the  increasing  necessity  of  some  money  for  the  troops." 
He  reiterated  that  the  men  under  General  Lincoln  must 
have  one  month's  pay  if  it  were  designed  to  take  them  far 
ther  south.  "  I  wish  it  to  come, "  he  added,  "  on  the  wings 
of  speed."  But  Morris  needed  no  goad  to  give  impulse  to 
his  zeal.  He  had  at  once  despatched  Philip  Audibert, 
Deputy  Paymaster  General  of  the  United  States,  to  the 
Head  of  Elk,  armed  with  a  letter  to  Rochambeau.  This 
officer  was  authorized  to  receive  the  French  money  on  be 
half  of  the  United  States.  The  letter  contained  profuse 
promises  that  the  sum  would  be  repaid  to  the  Count  on 
October  1,  and  concluded,  "  with  every  wish  for  the  most 
brilliant  success  to  the  allied  arms  and  for  your  own  per 
sonal  glory." 

The  money  was  delivered  to  Audibert  in  kegs,  the  heads 
of  which  were  knocked  in  so  that  the  silver  half  crowns 
might  roll  upon  the  ground  to  feast  the  eyes  of  the  mu 
tinous  troops.1  In  all  there  were  144,000  livres,  but 
1  Fisher's  "  Revolutionary  Reminiscences." 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  89 

Morris  knew,  for  Washington  had  told  him,  that  this  would 
fall  much  short  of  the  sum  necessary,  although  the  Finan 
cier  only  a  few  days  before  had  rather  humorously  ob 
served  to  the  Commander-in-chief  that  if  any  balance 
remained,  it  should  be  "paid  to  the  use  of  your  Excel 
lency's  table." 

None  remained.  Paymaster  Pierce  still  needed  $6500, 
and  Morris  was  compelled  to  send  south  a  sum  from  the 
Treasury  which  was  "absolutely  necessary,"  he  com 
plained,  to  fulfil  his  engagements  in  Philadelphia.  This 
experience  was  a  trying  initial  test  of  the  fibre  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Finance.  His  own  testimony  is  at 
hand  to  show  at  what  personal  cost  his  part  was  per 
formed  in  this  campaign.  On  September  20  he  wrote  to 
the  President  (Governor)  of  Pennsylvania :  "  The  late 
movements  of  the  army  have  so  entirely  drained  me  of 
money  that  I  have  been  obliged  to  pledge  my  personal 
credit  very  deeply  in  a  variety  of  instances,  besides  bor 
rowing  money  from  my  friends  and  advancing  to  promote 
the  public  service  every  shilling  of  my  own."  Again  he 
wrote,  "  By  the  greatest  exertions  I  have  at  length  been 
able  to  comply  with  the  General's  views,  but  that  com 
pliance  has  exposed  me  almost  penniless  to  answer  en 
gagements  which  cannot  be  violated." 

Nearly  two  years  later,  on  May  16,  1783,  the  Financier 
wrote  to  General  Greene,  then  in  the  South,  where  com 
plaints  were  freely  made  that  Morris  did  not  keep  that 
section  of  the  Union  in  mind,  but  directed  his  measures 
to  the  particular  benefit  of  Pennsylvania.  He  called  his 


90  ROBERT   MORRIS 

critics'  attention  to  the  Virginia  campaign,  concerning 
which  he  again  declared,  "I  advanced  not  only  my 
credit,  but  every  shilling  of  my  own  money,  and  all  which 
I  could  obtain  from  my  friends,  to  support  the  important 
expedition  against  Yorktown." 

In  spite  of  his  preoccupation  with  the  work  of  trans 
porting  the  army  from  New  York  to  Virginia,  Morris  gave 
his  attention  actively  and  incessantly  to  the  other  tasks 
and  duties  of  his  office,  made  the  more  onerous  by  a  con 
solidation  of  departments.  His  skill  and  experience  as  a 
shipmaster  made  it  natural  enough  that  he  should  be 
appointed  Agent  of  Marine  in  connection  with  his  Super- 
intendency  of  the  Treasury.  His  motives  in  accepting 
this  office,  and  Congress's  motives  in  vesting  him  with  it, 
were  well  understood.  The  Agency  fell  to  him  in  Sep 
tember,  1781,  when  the  Superintendent  of  Finance  wrote 
in  his  Diary :  — 

"There  are  many  reasons  why  I  would  have  wished 
that  this  burden  had  been  laid  on  other  shoulders,  or  that 
at  least  I  might  have  been  permitted  to  appoint  a  tem 
porary  agent  until  the  further  pleasure  of  Congress.  As 
it  is,  I  shall  undertake  the  task,  however  contrary  to  my 
inclinations  and  inconsistent  with  the  many  duties  which 
press  heavily  upon  me,  because  it  will  at  least  save  money 
to  the  public.  But  on  this  subject  I  have  to  observe  that 
true  economy,  according  to  my  ideas  of  it,  consists  in 
employing  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  to  perform  the 
public  business." 

In  a  letter  to  John  Bradford  Mr.  Morris,  in  explaining 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  91 

his  assumption  of  the  duties  of  minister  of  marine,  wrote 
that  "  Congress,  tired  of  the  heavy  expenses  attending  the 
boards  formerly  established  for  the  purpose  of  managing 
the  affairs  of  our  infant  and  unfortunate  navy,  have  en 
tirely  dismissed  those  arrangements,"  temporarily  intrust 
ing  the  work  of  the  Department  to  one  "  whom  God 
knows  had  already  more  to  do  than  either  his  time  or 
abilities  permitted  him  to  execute  equal  to  his  wishes." 
44 1  accepted  the  Marine  Agency,"  he  told  Alexander 
Hamilton,  44  simply  with  a  view  to  save  the  expense  of 
the  Department."  As  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  pur 
poses,  Morris  promptly  consolidated  the  two  offices  with 
their  separate  forces  of  clerks.  He  found  it  convenient 
not  clearly  to  distinguish  his  functions  as  marine  minis 
ter  and  finance  minister.  He  could  have  directed  two 
or  three  more  departments  with  like  facility.  All 
branches  of  the  public  service  were  subordinated,  from 
his  point  of  view,  and  indeed  from  the  view-point  of  every 
practical  man,  to  the  task  of  securing  money  enough  with 
which  to  keep  the  breath  of  life  in  the  army.  But  a  very 
small  number  of  ships  yet  remained  to  the  Continent,  and 
Congress  was  without  resources  with  which  to  enlarge 
the  fleet.  Morris's  first  duty  was  to  put  to  order  the 
naval  accounts,  and  for  this  work  he  selected  John  Brown, 
late  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty.  Brown  was  commis 
sioned  to  go  to  Boston,  where  most  of  the  operations 
of  this  Department  were  centred,  owing  to  the  superior 
skill  of  the  New  England  people  in  shipping  matters,  and 
make  report  upon  the  state  of  the  navy.  He  was  there 


92  ROBERT   MORRIS 

to  receive  all  the  books  and  papers  belonging  to  the 
United  States,  placing  them  in  the  hands  of  auditors. 
To  John  Bradford,  hitherto  in  charge  of  marine  affairs, 
Mr.  Morris  wrote :  — 

"  As  your  accounts  must  be  lengthy  and  of  great  import, 
I  give  you  this  notice,  that  you  may  get  them  ready,  and 
as  I  am  certain  you  will  have  been  regular  in  keeping 
them,  so  I  am  sure  it  will  give  you  pleasure  to  have  such 
an  opportunity  of  evincing  your  inflexible  integrity  to 
these  Republics,  already  become  susceptible  of  jealousies, 
even  with  respect  to  all  their  most  faithful  servants." 
He  wished  to  have  the  various  accounts  of  the  navy 
settled  "with  all  possible  expedition." 

In  Boston  a  Deputy  Agent  of  Marine  was  to  be  ap 
pointed  by  Brown  on  the  advice  of  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts.  Thomas  Russell,  whose  character  Morris 
declared  to  be  "unexceptionable,"  was  chosen.  He  was 
required  to  give  bond  to  the  Superintendent  of  Finance 
in  the  sum  of  £10,000  in  specie,  and  station  himself  in 
Boston  in  the  hope  of  securing  enough  money  in  Massa 
chusetts  to  fit  out  the  frigates  Alliance  and  Deane,  and 
send  them  to  sea.  Two  boats'  crews  were  to  be  engaged 
for  a  year,  and  the  ships  were  to  sail  from  Boston  accord 
ing  to  Mr.  Morris's  directions  "to  distress  the  enemy." 
It  was  his  plan  to  keep  them  constantly  at  sea,  taking 
prizes  wherever  they  could.  Captain  Barry  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  movements  of  both  vessels,  which 
were  finally  put  into  the  service,  the  Alliance  being 
selected  as  his  flagship.  "  I  do  not  fix  your  cruising 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  93 

ground  nor  limit  the  length  of  your  cruise,"  Mr.  Morris 
wrote,  "because  I  expect  you  will  know  the  most  likely 
course,  and  will  be  anxious  to  meet  such  events  as  will 
do  honor  to  the  American  flag  and  promote  the  general 
interest." 

As  early  as  in  1776  Congress  had  authorized  the  con 
struction  of  three  line-of-battle  ships  with  the  sincere 
intention  of  establishing  a  fleet  strong  enough  to  cope 
with  Great  Britain.  Had  it  been  possible  to  carry  out 
all  the  plans  at  that  time  entertained  for  the  United 
States  upon  the  sea,  the  navy  would  have  become  a  strong 
agency  in  national  defence.  The  keel  of  one  of  these 
three  vessels  which  was  to  carry  seventy-four  guns  and 
bear  the  name  America,  was  laid  in  May,  1777,  at  Ports 
mouth,  New  Hampshire,  but  work  proceeded  so  slowly 
that  in  1781  the  hulk  was  handed  over  to  Mr.  Morris 
still  in  a  most  incomplete  state.  The  construction  of 
the  other  two  was  never  begun.  It  was  Mr.  Morris's 
hope  to  finish  the  America.  The  ship  was  deteriorating 
rapidly  in  its  uncovered  condition,  and  he  gave  his 
serious  attention,  in  spite  of  his  other  absorbing  duties, 
to  the  work  of  protecting  this  unfortunate  object  of 
national  investment.  As  early  in  his  administration  as 
on  June  22,  1781,  the  Financier  wrote  to  the  President 
of  Congress  rather  shrewdly  and  satirically:  "She  must 
be  shut  in  and  launched  this  summer  or  she  will  perish. 
Much  money  has  already  been  expended  on  her,  and  I 
think  it  may  be  more  consistent  with  economy  and  with 
the  dignity  of  Congress  to  have  her  finished  than  to  let 


94  ROBERT  MORRIS 

her  perish."  He  recommended  that  an  officer  be  detailed 
to  superintend  the  work  at  Portsmouth,  and  while  he 
suggested  the  sale  of  the  ship  through  John  Jay  at 
Madrid,  he  meanwhile  thought  it  well  to  prepare  her 
to  go  to  France  as  soon  as  possible,  there  to  be  coppered 
and  completed,  "after  which,"  he  observed,  "she  may 
be  employed  so  as  to  enliven  and  invigorate  the  opera 
tions  of  our  army." 

In  August  Morris  sent  John  Paul  Jones  to  Ports 
mouth  with  orders  to  push  forward  the  work  upon 
the  ship  with  all  possible  speed,  advancing  him  .£400 
for  his  personal  use.  At  the  same  time  the  Finan 
cier  appealed  to  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire  for 
money  to  finish  the  vessel,  promising  that  such  sum 
as  was  provided  would  be  credited  to  the  state's  account. 
Jones's  labors  with  this  ship  were  tedious  and  uncon 
genial  to  him.  "I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,"  he  wrote  at 
a  later  date,  "  that  the  task  of  inspecting  the  construction 
of  the  America  was  the  most  lingering  and  disagreeable 
service  I  was  charged  with  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  Revolution." l  He  besought  Morris  to  grant  him 
a  leave  of  absence,  that  he  might  aid  Washington  at  York- 
town,  but  the  Agent  of  Marine  refused  the  appeal,  on 
the  ground  that  the  Commodore  could  be  much  more 
useful  where  he  was,  and  so  in  truth  he  seemed  to  be. 
The  enemy  several  times  had  planned  the  capture  of  the 
shipyard,  and  it  was  only  by  compelling  the  workmen  and 
townspeople  to  mount  guard  at  night,  that  Jones  was 
iBuell's  "Paul  Jones,"  Vol.  II.  p.  69. 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  95 

enabled  to  defeat  their  machinations.  Progress,  however, 
was  incredibly  slow.  Morris's  treasury  had  been  drained 
in  financing  the  Yorktown  campaign,  and  no  one  expected 
New  Hampshire  or  any  other  state  to  contribute  money 
for  such  a  purpose. 

At  length,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  the  ship,  in 
September,  1782,  was  almost  ready  for  service.  Men 
were  being  enlisted  for  the  crew  when,  in  August,  a 
French  74-gun  ship  Le  Magnifique,  was  wrecked  at 
the  entrance  of  Boston  harbor,  and  Morris  was  quick  to 
take  advantage  of  his  opportunity.  He  proposed  to  a 
committee  of  Congress  that  the  America  be  presented 
to  the  King  of  France.  Since  there  was  no  money  at 
hand  to  fit,  man,  and  equip  the  ship,  the  States  might 
thus  relieve  themselves  of  a  costly  burden,  while  at  the 
same  time  obtaining  credit  for  a  generous  attachment  to 
their  ally.  Congress  therefore  passed  a  resolution  trans 
ferring  the  ship  which  had  already  been  five  or  six  years 
in  the  building  to  King  Louis.  "  You  will  find,"  writes 
Mr.  Morris  to  a  friend,  "  that  Congress  have  pursued  the 
idea  which  I  suggested  as  to  the  mode  of  economizing 
reputably  by  giving  away  the  ship  America.  But  I  do 
not  think  that  economy  would  alone  have  been  a  sufficient 
reason  for  this  valuable  present,  because  certainly  it  ought 
to  be  a  constant  object  with  every  true  American  to 
establish  a  respectable  marine.  I  am,  however,  well 
pleased  with  what  is  done,  because  I  think  it  a  seasonable 
tribute  of  gratitude  to  a  prince  whose  exertions  in  our 
favor  have  been  both  generous  and  great." 


96  ROBERT   MORRIS 

The  America  was  handed  over  to  the  French  officer 
who  had  commanded  the  unfortunate  Magnifique^  but  as 
the  French  navy  already  contained  a  vessel  called  L'Ame- 
rique,  the  King  rechristened  his  gift  ship  Le  Franklin. 

Mr.  Morris's  interest  in  the  country's  "  infant  and  unfor 
tunate  navy  "  was  very  true  and  sincere.  He  was  beloved 
by  all  the  officers  with  whom  he  came  into  relationship. 
He  was  never  unmindful  of  the  distresses  of  American 
sailors,  especially  those  who  were  unfortunate  enough, 
as  so  many  were,  to  fall  into  British  prisons.  For  two 
years  the  little  Continental  fleet  responded  to  his  personal 
call.  When  he  desired  a  frigate  to  carry  flour  or  bills 
on  Cadiz  to  Cuba,  he  gave  orders  to  the  captain  to  that 
effect,  and  that  the  performances  of  the  vessels,  at  the 
disposition  of  the  Agent  of  Marine,  were  not  more  dis 
tinguished,  is  solely  ascribable  to  the  fact  that  circum 
stances  limited  all  operations  of  whatever  kind  not  of 
the  most  puerile  character. 

One  of  the  purposes  for  which  Morris  early  found  the 
navy  a  desirable  adjunct  of  the  Office  of  Finance  was  in  the 
establishment  of  the  bank.  A  national  bank,  as  we  have 
noted,  had  been  the  initial  object  of  his  solicitude  when  he 
took  charge  of  the  Continental  finances,  and  he  pursued 
it  without  remission.  It  was  the  principal  feature  of  his 
financial  system.  Without  it  his  administration  would  have 
collapsed  in  disgrace,  and  yet,  to  establish  it  was  one  of 
the  most  difficult  of  his  many  troublesome  tasks.  The 
states'  rights  men  were  opposed  to  granting  it  a  char 
ter.  No  money  was  at  hand  with  which  to  fill  its  vaults 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  97 

and  tills.  Appeals  were  sent  out  to  governors,  legisla 
tures,  business  men,  army  officers,  and  to  the  public  in 
general  to  subscribe  to  the  capital  stock. 

The  bank  was  necessary,  Mr.  Morris  argued,  because 
of  a  great  paper  medium  which  caused  coin  to  be  exported 
or  concealed.  This  paper  was  so  depreciated  in  value 
that  not  enough  of  it  was  in  circulation  for  purposes 
of  trade  and  taxation.  If  the  bank  were  established,  it 
could  utilize  the  credit  of  stockholders,  and  the  private 
credit  of  lenders  and  borrowers.  It  could  absorb  the 
worthless  outstanding  paper,  replacing  it  with  bank 
notes.  It  would  soon  be  able  to  lend  large  sums  to 
the  United  States  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  In 
short,  it  was  a  plan  "to  unite  the  several  states  more 
closely  in  one  general  money  connection "  for  their  gen 
eral  weal.  "I  am  determined,"  the  Superintendent  of 
Finance  wrote  to  John  Jay,  "that  the  bank  shall  be 
well  supported  until  it  can  support  itself,  and  then  it 
will  support  us."  He  proposed  that  the  capital  stock 
should  be  8400,000.  He  wished  that  it  might  be 
£400,000,  but  regarded  it  as  far  from  certain  whether 
even  so  large  a  sum  as  he  had  named  could  be  secured 
in  the  existing  state  of  the  public  and  private  finances. 
The  shares  were  to  sell  at  $400  each,  subscribers  for  less 
than  four  shares  paying  the  whole  amount  at  once,  while 
those  who  took  larger  amounts  of  stock  were  to  pay 
but  one-half  at  the  time  of  subscription,  and  the  other 
half  within  three  months.  The  bank's  various  opera 
tions  were  to  be  superintended  by  a  board  of  twelve 


98  ROBERT   MORRIS 

directors  elected  by  the  shareholders,  and  these  officers 
were  to  meet  quarterly,  appointing  two  of  their  num 
ber  whose  business  it  should  be  carefully  to  inspect  the 
business  of  the  bank  for  the  ensuing  three  months.  The 
Superintendent  of  Finance  of  America  was  to  have  access 
to  the  books  and  papers  of  the  institution  at  all  times, 
and  every  day  the  inspectors  must  deliver  him  a  state 
ment  of  the  cash  account  of  the  bank,  and  a  list  of  the 
notes  issued  and  received.  The  bank's  notes  were  to 
be  payable  in  specie  on  demand,  and  were  to  be  receiva 
ble  for  taxes  by  every  state  of  the  Union,  and  by  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  from  the  states  as  though 
they  were  specie. 

As  early  as  June  11,  1781,  Morris  had  written  to 
prominent  Whig  business  men  in  all  parts  of  the 
country :  — 

"The  capital  proposed  is  but  small  when  the  extent 
and  riches  of  the  United  States  are  considered,  but  when 
put  in  motion,  the  benefits  flowing  from  it  will  be  so 
perceptible,  that  all  difficulty  about  increasing  the  capi 
tal,  or  securing  its  credit,  will  vanish,  and  we  shall  only 
have  to  appeal  to  the  interest  of  mankind,  which,  in 
most  cases,  will  do  more  than  their  patriotism;  but 
there  have  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  many  instances 
where  interest  is  sacrificed  to  patriotism,  and  in  that 
belief  I  ask  you  to  devote  some  of  your  time  to  promote 
this  infant  plan,  which,  as  it  gathers  strength,  may,  in 
the  end,  prove  the  means  of  saving  the  liberties,  lives, 
and  property  of  the  virtuous  part  of  America." 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  99 

But  there  was  little  response.  Colonel  Tench  Tilgh- 
man,  who  had  been  appointed  an  agent  for  the  bank 
at  Washington's  camp,  said  that  he  thought  he  would 
be  "  a  very  unprofitable  agent."  Not  an  officer,  from 
the  Commander-in-chief  downward,  could  subscribe,  since 
none  for  a  long  time  had  received  any  "  real  money " 
for  his  services.  The  General  himself  sent  word  that 
he  was  deterred  from  obeying  the  dictates  of  his  heart 
since  the  revenues  from  his  Virginia  estates  were  not 
now  sufficient  for  his  current  requirements.  Lately  he 
had  been  obliged  to  part  with  some  of  his  lands  in  order 
to  pay  the  taxes  upon  those  which  remained.1  NQ  sub- 
scriptions  could  be  obtained  anywhere  in  the  Union 
except  from  a  few  of  Mr.  Morris's  personal  friends  in 
Philadelphia.  But,  in  spite  of  all  hostility,  he  persisted, 
as  lie  usually  did  when  he  had  once  chosen  his  policy, 
convinced  Congress  of  the  necessity  of  the  bank,  and 
began  to  look  abroad  for  the  money  which  he  could 
not  find  at  home. 

His  first  important  essay  in  foreign  countries  was 
made  through  John  Jay,  the  American  Ambassador  to 
Spain.  It  was  necessary  that  a  sum  of  specie  should  be 
thrown  into  the  institution  at  once,  and  he  asked  Jay  to 
lay  the  matter  before  the  governments  of  Spain  and 
Portugal.  He  hoped  to  secure  this  money  by  way  of 
Cuba.  Robert  Smith,  long  a  captain  of  dragoons  in 
the  Continental  army,  a  son  of  William  Smith  of  Balti 
more,  through  Morris's  instrumentalities  was  appointed 
1  Collections  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.,  1878. 


100  ROBERT   MORRIS 

by  Congress  as  the  Continental  agent  at  Havana.  He 
had  settled  there  to  engage  in  business  on  private  ac 
count,  and  as  he  asked  no  salary  for  his  services,  and 
many  unfair  and  burdensome  discriminations  were  being 
practised  in  that  port  against  American  commerce,  he 
was  designated  to  represent  the  interests  of  the  United 
States  in  Cuba. 

In  July,  1781,  the  Superintendent  of  Finance  despatched 
the  frigate  Trumbull,  under  command  of  Captain  Nichol 
son  to  Havana.  She  was  laden  with  flour  consigned 
to  Smith,  who  was  to  receive  5  per  cent  for  negotiating 
the  sale  at  the  risk  and  on  the  account  of  the  United 
States  government.  With  the  flour  went  a  bill  for  500,000 
livres  tournois  drawn  at  60  days  sight  on  French  bankers, 
and  also  about  $120,000  worth  of  old  bills,  drawn  on 
John  Jay  at  Madrid.  These  were  to  be  sold  on  the 
best  terms  possible  to  the  Governor  of  Havana  or  to 
private  individuals.  Mr.  Smith  was  charged  to  put 
forth  every  effort  to  interest  the  Spanish  government  in 
the  bills.  If  they  were  not  honored  by  the  Spanish  court 
when  they  arrived  in  Madrid,  Morris  pledged  himself  to 
send  the  Governor  flour  at  a  stipulated  price  to  remunerate 
him  in  full  for  his  advances.  "  I  hope,  sir,"  the  Superin 
tendent  wrote  to  the  Governor  by  Captain  Nicholson,  "you 
will  find  it  agreeable  to  your  inclinations  and  perfectly 
consistent  with  the  duties  of  your  station  to  gratify  my 
desires.  They  are  very  moderate,  considering  the  necessi 
ties  of  this  country  and  your  ability  to  minister  to  its 
relief." 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  101 

Every  detail  of  the  voyage  was  planned  beforehand  by 
Mr.  Morris  in  person.  His  familiarity  with  trade  and  ship 
ping  peculiarly  qualified  him  for  the  direction  of  such  an 
enterprise.  Word  was  given  out  that  the  frigate  would 
carry  flour  from  Philadelphia  to  the  French  fleet  in  Rhode 
Island.  The  true  destination  of  the  ship  was  kept  a 
secret  even  from  its  officers.  The  captain's  instructions 
were  delivered  to  him  in  a  sealed  letter,  which  was  not  to 
be  opened  until  after  the  pilot  quitted  the  vessel  and  she 
was  well  out  at  sea.  The  packets  of  letters  to  the  Gover 
nor  and  Smith,  Mr.  Morris  enjoined,  "must  not  on  any 
account  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,"  for  which  rea 
son  they  must  be  "  slung,  with  proper  weights  to  sink  them, 
if  any  extremity  happens  to  induce  you  to  throw  them 
overboard."  The  voyage  must  be  made  with  all  possible 
speed.  On  no  condition  should  the  crew  go  out  of  its 
way  in  a  chase  for  prizes,  though  if  the  frigate  was  in  her 
turn  pursued  and  attacked,  Mr.  Morris  persuaded  himself 
that  the  Trumbull  would  not  "  disgrace  the  American  ser 
vice."  The  sole  object  of  the  voyage  was  to  secure  the 
silver.  "It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  mention  to  you," 
Morris  wrote  to  Mr.  Smith,  "  that  we  want  money  exceed 
ingly.  This  very  measure  must  convince  you  of  it.  Ex 
ert  yourself,  therefore,  to  get  it,  and  you  will  merit  much 
at  the  hands  of  your  country.  Should  you  not  succeed  in 
getting  the  whole  sum  I  have  asked  for,  get  as  much  as 
you  possibly  can."  If  merchant  vessels  were  at  "  the  Ha 
vana  "  when  the  time  came  for  the  Trumbull  to  leave,  and 
would  carry  the  coin  without  cost  in  return  for  convoy, 


102  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Morris  directed  that  it  be  distributed  among  the  mer 
chantmen  as  a  further  safeguard  against  capture. 

While  every  precaution  was  taken  to  protect  the  ship 
on  her  hazardous  and  important  mission,  she  had  not 
long  left  Delaware  Bay  when  she  was  overtaken  and 
captured  by  British  cruisers,  although  they  did  not  get 
her  letters,  which  are  still  somewhere  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea.  Among  the  prisoners  taken  with  Captain 
Nicholson  was  "  Fighting  Dick "  Dale,  who  had  been 
with  Paul  Jones  on  the  Bonhomme  Richard  in  the  sen 
sational  naval  battle  off  the  coast  of  England.  The 
Trumbull  and  her  gallant  crew  were  escorted  to  New 
York,  and  Mr.  Morris  busied  himself  for  many  months 
in  trying  to  exchange  Nicholson,  Dale,  and  the  other 
prisoners,  who  distinguished  themselves  while  within  the 
British  lines  in  lending  money  to  needy  American  sea 
men  in  a  similar  plight,  and  by  encouraging  their  fellow- 
unfortunates  to  resist  the  solicitations  of  their  captors 
to  enlist  under  the  enemy's  flag.  He  sent  money  to 
New  York  to  relieve  their  distresses,  and  of  the  conduct 
of  Captain  Nicholson  who  had  "spurned  offers  that 
would  have  tempted  a  man  of  less  virtue  and  patriotism," 
he  spoke  in  the  highest  terms. 

The  plan  of  importing  money  from  Cuba  having  mis 
carried,  Mr.  Morris  was  obliged  to  look  elsewhere  for 
the  cash  to  start  his  bank.  The  importation  of  a  con 
siderable  amount  of  specie  from  France,  on  which  mis 
sion  Colonel  Henry  Laurens  some  time  before  had  been 
despatched  by  Congress,  offered  Morris  the  opportunity 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  103 

to  realize  his  favorite  financial  project.  Colonel  Laurens 
had  had  a  tedious  voyage  on  La  Resolue,  a  French 
frigate  commanded  by  De  Langle  which  the  King  of 
France  had  assigned  to  this  dangerous  service.  Her 
safety  had  been  almost  despaired  of,  and  the  loss  of  so 
large  an  amount  of  specie  would  have  been  a  severe 
disaster  to  the  states. 

The  ship  was  expected  to  arrive  in  Philadelphia,  and 
Morris  had  just  written  to  Franklin  that  it  was  sixty- 
two  days  out  from  Brest,  when  Laurens  came  to  the 
city,  announcing  his  safe  arrival  in  Boston.  The 
frigate  had  been  driven  from  its  course  by  storms. 
It  had  steered  a  devious  route,  on  account  of  the 
fleets  of  the  enemy,  which  had  been  avoided  with  diffi 
culty  on  the  passage.  The  good  Whigs  of  America  had 
double  cause  for  gratitude  in  September,  1781,  for 
almost  simultaneously  it  was  announced  that  Laurens 
had  come  safely  into  port  with  the  money  from  France, 
and  that  Count  de  Grasse  with  his  fleet  had  arrived  in 
the  Chesapeake  to  lend  the  strength  of  his  squadron 
in  the  reduction  of  Yorktown. 

There  were  many  demands  upon  the  money  which  La 
Resolue  bore  to  the  United  States.  Some  were  so 
urgent  that  they  must  be  promptly  satisfied.  But 
Morris  guarded  the  cargo  with  a  jealous  eye.  It  had 
come  to  Boston  instead  of  Philadelphia,  and  now  it  must 
be  transported  overland  through  a  country  occupied  by 
the  enemy,  which  would  use  its  active  exertions  to 
capture  the  treasure  on  shore  as  it  had  upon  the  sea, 


104  ROBERT   MORRIS 

unless  every  precaution  were  observed  in  fitting  out  the 
expedition.  Morris  settled  to  this  work  with  his  char 
acteristic  energy.  He  planned  every  detail  of  the  jour 
ney,  selecting  for  this  important  mission  Mr.  Tench 
Francis,  a  trusted  business  friend.  "  I  thought  the  pro 
posal  was  pleasing  to  him,"  Mr.  Morris  comments  in  his 
Diary,  "  and  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  show  his  firm 
attachment  to  the  cause  of  America,  which  some  few  of 
his  actions  early  in  the  contest,  flowing  from  an  uncom 
mon  warmth  of  temper,  had  rendered  dubious  in  the 
eyes  of  many  people;  but  for  my  part,  as  I  am  fully 
convinced  of  his  zeal  and  attachment  to  the  interest  of 
the  United  States,  I  employ  him  with  pleasure,  having 
full  confidence  in  his  fidelity,  integrity,  and  abilities." 

With  him  went  a  Major  of  Marines,  Samuel  Nicholas, 
and  their  route  took  them  to  General  Heath,  who  was 
commanding  in  New  England.  Francis  carried  letters 
to  him,  to  John  Hancock,  and  to  Captain  de  Langle.  "  It 
is  my  intention  to  have  this  money  brought  from  Boston 
to  this  place,"  Mr.  Morris  declared,  "  as  soon  as  the  nec 
essary  attention  to  its  safety  will  permit;  at  the  same 
time  I  mean  to  have  it  transported  with  the  utmost 
possible  economy."  He  applied  to  the  Board  of  War 
for  a  body  of  dragoons  to  accompany  the  teams  from 
Boston,  and  this  escort,  at  dangerous  places  along  the 
route  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  was  to  be  strength 
ened  by  parties  of  infantrymen  detailed  for  the  purpose 
by  General  Heath.  Francis  was  instructed  to  purchase 
a  sufficient  number  of  oxen  six  years  old  and  horses 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  105 

from  seven  to  ten  years  old  on  the  best  possible  terms. 
The  animals,  Mr.  Morris  argued,  could  be  sold  for  more 
in  Philadelphia  than  they  had  cost  in  Boston.  Honest, 
sober  teamsters  were  to  be  employed,  and  these  were  to 
be  armed  each  with  a  good  musket  and  bayonet  to  assist 
the  cavalry  in  case  of  attack  upon  the  treasure  train. 
To  reduce  the  risk  of  shipment,  and  to  lessen  the  weight, 
a  considerable  part  of  the  whole  sum  was  to  be  invested 
in  Boston,  in  "  good  bills  of  exchange  drawn  by  authority 
of  his  most  Christian  Majesty,  or  of  Congress."  These 
bills  should  be  bought  as  cheaply  as  possible,  but  not  to 
exceed  a  price  of  seventy-five  Spanish  dollars  for  525 
livres  tournois.  The  coin  which  remained  was  to  be 
boxed  carefully  and  loaded  upon  the  teams.  La  Reso- 
lue  had  brought  in  all  2,500,224  livres  and  18  sous. 
It  was  placed  in  double  casks,  but  on  its  way  to  Brest, 
the  point  of  embarkation,  the  packages  were  so  damaged 
that  it  had  been  necessary  to  shift  a  part  of  the  money 
to  boxes  before  the  voyage  began.  For  this  and  other 
reasons  the  cargo  had  come  to  port  in  a  shattered  con 
dition.  It  would  need  to  be  handled  with  great  care. 
While  it  was  essential  to  make  sure  that  the  whole  ship 
ment  had  been  safely  received,  Mr.  Morris  conceived  that 
it  would  take  too  much  time  to  count  all  the  pieces 
separately.  He  directed,  therefore,  that  1000  or  2000 
crowns  be  counted  out  and  weighed.  What  remained 
could  then  be  weighed,  and  "  if  the  scales  are  tolerably 
good,"  he  concluded,  "this  mode  will  determine  the 
amount  with  accuracy."  When  taken  from  the  frigate, 


106  ROBERT   MORRIS 

the  coin,  or  so  much  of  it  as  was  not  exchanged  for 
bills  in  Boston,  was  to  be  packed  in  small  square  boxes 
made  of  strong  oak  boards,  each  box  to  contain  from 
1500  to  2000  crowns.  These  boxes,  to  the  number  of 
about  twenty,  were  to  be  placed  together  in  a  great  chest 
constructed  of  thick  oak  plank.  The  lid  of  the  chest  then 
was  to  be  well  nailed  down,  and  it  was  to  be  set  upon  the 
axle  and  tongue  of  an  ox-cart  from  which  the  body  had 
been  detached.  Heavy  iron  straps  were  to  be  fixed  round 
the  chest  side  wise  and  lengthwise,  to  fasten  it  securely 
to  the  cart,  and  these  must  be  welded  by  a  blacksmith, 
so  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  open  or  take  it  off  the 
carriage  until  it  reached  its  journey's  end.  Each  chest 
was  to  weigh  about  a  ton,  and  to  the  cart  which  held 
it,  Francis  was  directed  to  attach  four  oxen  led  by  one 
horse.  The  axles,  wheels,  and  tongues  were  to  be  of 
unusual  strength,  for  the  roads  over  which  the  teams 
must  come  were  very  rough. 

Every  movement  was  to  be  shrouded  in  the  darkest 
secrecy.  The  route  was  from  Boston  to  Worcester,  to 
Springfield,  to  Greenwood,  to  Salisbury,  to  Fishkill,  to 
New  Windsor  or  Newburgh,  to  Sussex  Court  House  or 
Newton,  to  Easton,  to  Philadelphia.  Francis  was  in 
structed  to  publish,  however,  that  he  would  go  from 
Springfield  to  Claverack,  from  Claverack  to  Rhinebeck, 
from  Rhinebeck  to  Esopus,  from  Esopus  to  Minisink, 
and  from  Minisink  to  Easton.  When  changing  his 
route  around  Salisbury,  he  was  urged  to  travel  with  all 
the  speed  his  cattle  could  command,  for  which  reason 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  107 

he  should  spare  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  journey, 
and  inform  General  Heath  so  that  the  army  could  take 
positions  from  time  to  time  to  cover  the  movement. 
Francis  left  Philadelphia  on  September  11,  with  all  his 
instructions  in  hand,  Mr.  Morris  having  sent  him  on  his 
way  with  a  parting  wish  that  when  he  came  back  he 
would  ask  no  "extravagant  recompense."  "The  pleas 
ure  of  serving  your  country,"  said  the  Superintendent 
of  Finance,  "and  the  confidence  which  is  placed  in  you 
will  be  a  more  agreeable  part  of  your  reward,  and  I 
hope  the  event  will  justify  that  confidence  and  give  joy 
to  every  friend  of  the  United  States." 

The  mission  consumed  nearly  two  months,  but  it  was 
successfully  executed,  for  on  November  6,  Major  Nicho 
las,  who  rode  on  before  as  an  advance  courier,  came 
into  Mr.  Morris's  office,  announcing  that  Tench  Francis 
and  his  ox  train  were,  when  he  parted  with  them,  just 
sixteen  miles  from  the  city.  The  treasure  arrived  in 
Philadelphia  a  few  hours  later,  and  was  delivered  to 
Mr.  Hillegas,  Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 

Francis,  having  sold  his  cattle,  horses,  and  wagons, 
and  settled  his  accounts  with  the  Superintendent  of  Fi 
nance,  immediately  employed  his  talents  in  assisting  Mr. 
Morris  in  the  great  work  of  establishing  the  Bank  of 
North  America.  With  the  Boston  money  the  Financier 
was  enable^  to  subscribe  on  the  part  of  the  government 
for  some  8250,000  worth  of  its  capital  stock.  Private 
subscriptions,  after  several  months  of  effort,  barely 
amounted  to  850,000.  Of  the  proposed  total  issue  of 


108  ROBERT   MORRIS 

1000  shares,  200  still  remained  unsold,  even  after  the 
United  States  had  subscribed  for  633,  and  it  was  neces 
sary  to  start  the  bank  with  a  capital  of  $300,000 
instead  of  $400,000,  as  had  been  originally  intended. 

Thomas  Willing,  Mr.  Morris's  partner,  was  chosen  to 
be  the  first  President  and  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  James 
Wilson,  William  Bingham,  and  other  Whigs  of  promi 
nence  in  business  circles  in  Philadelphia,  were  members 
of  the  Board  of  Directors.  Francis  was  elected  to  the 
position  of  Cashier,  and  on  December  31,  1781,  Con 
gress,  despite  some  opposition,  incorporated  the  "  Presi 
dent,  Directors,  and  Corporation  of  the  Bank  of  North 
America."  On  January  7,  1782,  the  institution  opened 
its  doors  to  the  public  in  a  building  on  the  north  side 
of  Chestnut  Street  west  of  Third  Street,  formerly  used 
by  Cashier  Francis  as  a  store.  The  specie  which  he 
had  brought  from  Boston  on  its  dangerous  overland 
journey  was  placed  in  the  vaults,  to  redeem  the  notes 
issued  by  the  bank  if  timorous  holders  should  present 
them  for  redemption.  Rather  unusual  methods  were 
employed  until  public  confidence  was  established. 
When  silver  was  borrowed,  secret  agents  of  the  bank 
were  sent  after  it  to  get  it  and  deposit  it  again. 
When  notes  would  not  circulate  at  par,  and  the  holders 
came  to  the  bank  to  find  out  what  security  there  was 
for  their  paper,  they  were  shown  an  impressive  quantity 
of  silver,  which  Francis  had  arranged  on  a  kind  of  end 
less  chain  running  down  to  the  vaults.1  The  specie 
1  Lewis's  "  History  of  the  Bank  of  North  America.'* 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  109 

was  hoisted,  lowered,  hoisted  again,  and  strewn  about 
the  counters.  It  was  reckoned  quite  necessary  to 
"  dazzle  the  public  eye  by  the  same  piece  of  coin  mul 
tiplied  by  a  thousand  reflectors."  The  note  holders 
deceived,  and  thinking  that  the  specie  came  from  some 
unlimited  source,  went  home  with  their  bills,  the  value 
of  which  was  soon  generally  established.  "  This  institu 
tion,  I  am  persuaded,"  Mr.  Morris  wrote  soon  after  the 
bank  was  opened,  "  will  flourish  under  the  management 
of  honest  men  and  honest  measures;  the  present  direc 
tors  are  such  men,  and  the  present  system  of  measures 
are  founded  on  principles  of  justice  and  equity." 
"  The  bank,"  he  said  another  time,  "  will  exist  in  spite 
of  calumny,  operate  in  spite  of  opposition,  and  do  good 
in  spite  of  malevolence." 

He  had  told  Franklin  that  he  meant  to  render  the 
bank  "  a  principal  pillar  of  American  credit."  In  less 
than  two  weeks  after  the  institution  was  opened,  the 
directors  were  enabled  to  lend  the  United  States 
$100,000.  In  February,  March,  and  June  following  Mr. 
Morris  received  further  sums,  in  all  $400,000,  therefore 
$100,000  more  than  the  bank's  total  paid-up  capital. 
But  direct  loans  were  by  no  means  the  only  advantages 
which  flowed  to  the  United  States  through  the  establish 
ment  of  the  institution.  The  directors  discounted  the 
notes  of  individuals  which  came  to  Mr.  Morris's  hands, 
anticipated  the  receipts  of  public  money,  and  were  in 
many  ways  a  powerful  influence  to  facilitate  his  finan 
cial  operations. 


110  ROBERT   MORRIS 

On  March  25,  1782,  the  Superintendent  of  Finance 
was  able  to  write :  "  The  establishment  of  a  national 
bank  answers  all  the  purposes  expected  from  it,  and  even 
exceeds  in  success  the  most  sanguine  hopes  that  had 
been  formed  by  its  warmest  advocates.  As  the  opera 
tions  of  the  bank  become  extended,  the  benefits  of  the 
institution  will  be  felt  to  the  extreme  parts  of  the  United 
States.  Their  notes  acquire  every  day  a  greater  extent 
of  circulation,  and  they  have  obtained  the  most  perfect 
confidence  hereabouts." 

In  reviewing  the  operations  of  his  office  at  the  close 
of  his  term,  Mr.  Morris  said :  "  It  may  be  not  only  as 
serted  but  demonstrated  that  without  the  establishment 
of  the  national  bank,  the  business  of  the  Department 
of  Finance  could  not  have  been  performed." 

Meanwhile  the  operations  at  Yorktown  claimed  Morris's 
incessant  attention.  He  was  daily  despatching  letters 
of  urgent  appeal  to  the  states  for  provisions  for  the 
troops.  He  felt  quite  confident  that  he  could  depend 
upon  the  Southern  states  to  supply  him  with  everything 
that  was  really  essential  for  the  soldiers  except  fresh 
meat.  To  provide  this  he  computed  that  one  hundred 
head  of  cattle  would  be  needed  weekly,  and  to  General 
Heath  was  delegated  the  duty  of  securing  the  requisite 
number  from  the  Eastern  states.  Droves  had  reached 
New  Jersey  on  their  way  southward,  but  Mr.  Morris 
had  no  money  to  pay  the  avaricious  prices  which  the 
farmers  demanded  for  pasturage.  They  were  in  immi 
nent  risk  of  starving  on  the  road.  The  Financier  wrote 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  111 

to  the  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  setting  forth  the  absolute 
necessity  of  forwarding  the  animals  at  once.  "  I  know 
of  but  two  modes  in  which  the  object  can  be  accom 
plished,"  he  wrote.  "  The  one  is  by  the  payment  of 
money  to  the  Commissary  for  the  purpose.  But  this  I 
fear  will  not  be  in  your  power.  I  therefore  only  men 
tion  it  as  preferable  to  all  others,  if  practicable.  The 
other  mode  is  by  granting  warrants  to  impress  pastur 
age.  I  presume  the  state  has  undoubtedly  vested  your 
Excellency  with  sufficient  powers  for  the  purpose,  and 
therefore  I  must  pray  that  you  will  exercise  them." 

Washington  needed  and  received  five  hundred  guineas 
for  a  secret  service  fund.  He  made  requisition  upon  the 
Office  of  Finance  also  for  a  quantity  of  West  India  and 
country-made  rum,  together  with  some  Taffia.  While 
the  request  was  forwarded  north  in  September,  because 
of  certain  delays  in  the  messenger  service  it  did  not 
reach  Morris  until  mid-October.  He  at  once  exerted 
himself  to  supply  the  liquor.  He  purchased  it  in  open 
market,  employed  a  special  agent  at  $4  a  day  to  carry 
it  to  Christiana  Bridge  by  water,  thence  to  the  Head  of 
Elk,  and  on  down  the  Chesapeake  by  the  most  expedi 
tious  means,  enjoining  him  always  to  guard  the  casks 
"against  plunder,  adulteration,  or  waste  of  any  kind." 
"  I  sincerely  wish  that  my  abilities  were  equal  to  my 
inclinations,"  Morris  wrote  to  Washington.  "  However, 
your  Excellency  has  cares  enough,  and  I  will  not  trouble 
you  with  my  perplexities." 

While  the  siege  lasted,  much  flour  must  be  transported 


112  ROBERT   MORRIS 

to  the  South  from  the  wheat-growing  states.  The  French 
allies  who  provisioned  and  financed  their  own  campaign, 
were  credited  with  what  they  had  collected  in  the  North 
against  supplies  which  the  Americans  furnished  them 
from  overabundant  stores  of  certain  kinds  of  provisions 
in  the  South.  October  1  came,  and  Mr.  Morris,  as  might 
have  been  foreseen,  in  spite  of  his  positive  promises  to 
Rochambeau,  was  unable  to  make  good  the  French  loan. 
The  allies  were  still  besieging  Yorktown.  He  did  not 
burden  himself  very  greatly  with  the  pledge,  for  he 
knew  that  the  French  would  not  desert  Washington  for 
$20,000,  when  the  victory  was  so  nearly  won.  He  wrote 
to  Rochambeau,  and  called  upon  Ambassador  Luzerne, 
begging  for  a  longer  time  in  which  to  repay  the  money. 
He  wished  first  to  receive  the  specie  which  "  a  very 
active  person"  had  gone  to  fetch  from  Boston.  It  was 
November  15  before  Morris  was  able  to  command 
money  enough  to  meet  this  engagement,  and  then  he 
could  repay  but  a  part  of  the  sum. 

Meantime  Cornwallis  had  surrendered.  On  November 
3,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Minister  of  France,  the  Finan 
cier  attended  a  Te  Deum  sung  in  the  Catholic  church  in 
Philadelphia  in  honor  of  the  great  victory.  The  colors 
taken  from  the  English  soon  arrived.  They  were  brought 
in  by  one  of  Washington's  aides,  who  was  met  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  by  a  troop  of  cavalry.  American 
and  French  flags  conveyed  by  horsemen  preceded  the 
captured  British  trophies.  They  were  escorted  through 
the  streets  of  Philadelphia  with  much  fifing  and  drum- 


IN   THE   OFFICE   OF   FINANCE  113 

ming,  and  were  finally  carried  into  the  State  House  and 
presented  to  Congress,  the  highest  embodiment  of  execu 
tive  power  in  the  confederated  states. 

On  November  15,  when  the  Superintendent  of  Finance 
wrote  to  Rochambeau  offering  many  eloquent  apologies 
for  his  dilatoriness  as  a  paymaster,  he  said:  "Before  I 
conclude  this  letter,  I  must  trespass  one  short  moment 
on  your  patience,  to  express  my  congratulations  on  the 
important  and  splendid  success  which  has  crowned  the 
allied  arms  before  Yorktown.  My  voice,  Sir,  cannot 
add  to  that  glory  which  the  public  sentiment  has  most 
deservedly  conferred,  but  you  will  permit  me  to  assure 
you  of  the  high  gratification  it  gives  my  mind  that  you 
are  so  much  the  object  of  gratitude,  applause,  and  esteem 
throughout  the  United  States." 


CHAPTER  IV 

"PREACHING    TO    THE    DEAD" 

THE  main  source  of  Mr.  Morris's  income  should  have 
been  the  thirteen  states.  The  war  had  been  begun  by 
them  ;  it  was  prosecuted  for  them.  The  Continental  Con 
gress  was  a  mere  meeting-place  for  their  representatives. 
The  agencies  which  it  established  were  central  directing 
chiefs  and  bureaus,  deriving  their  authority  from  the  states 
to  which  they  looked  for  support  and  reward.  It  was  a 
manifest  impossibility  to  carry  on  the  war  without  these 
common  officers,  and  yet  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to 
effect  any  result  with  them,  so  impotent  and  cavilling  had 
the  state  governments  come  to  be.  Loud  appeals  from 
Continental  servants  failed  to  move  them  to  a  sense  of 
duty.  Even  Morris's  eloquent  powers  were  exhausted  in 
an  attempt  to  arouse  the  patriotic  conscience  of  the  legis 
latures.  "  It  is  like  preaching  to  the  dead,"  he  observed, 
and  at  last  he  was  compelled  to  leave  them  out  of  account, 
altogether,  and  conduct  his  financial  arrangements  as  best 
he  could  without  them. 

The  last  state  had  lately  ratified  the  Articles  of  Confed 
eration,  and  although  Morris,  like  most  of  his  friends,  did 
not  lay  much  store  by  this  instrument  of  union,  he  was 
now  in  a  position  better  than  any  other  to  discover  the  de- 

114 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  115 

ceit  and  weakness  of  the  government  which  Congress  had 
established.  So  jealous  were  the  states  of  any  central 
authority,  and  of  each  other,  that  the  Confederation  was 
not  empowered  even  to  levy  and  collect  its  own  taxes. 
Its  rights  were  exhausted  in  recommending  the  states  to 
do  so,  and  when  thirteen  tax  laws  were  finally  enacted  by 
the  state  governments,  no  Continental  agent  dare  invade 
the  territory  under  their  jurisdiction  to  attend  to  the  ex 
ecution  of  the  laws.  The  French  government  having  re 
fused  point-blank  to  lend  more  money  to  the  Americans 
to  be  used  in  paying  the  interest  on  former  loans,  Congress, 
in  the  spring  of  1781,  had  respectfully  invited  the  states  to 
lay  a  duty  of  5  per  cent  on  merchandise  imports  and  prizes 
and  prize,  goods.  The  task  of  persuading  the  states  to 
heed  Congress's  recommendation  was  inherited  by  Mr. 
Morris  when  he  came  to  the  head  of  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment,  and  this  5  per  cent  tax,  together  with  a  call  for 
18,000,000  in  the  autumn  of  1781,  payable  by  the  states  at 
quarterly  periods,  the  estimates  for  the  service  of  the  year 
1782,  occupied  the  Financier's  talents  until  the  end  of  his 
term.  The  first  recommendation  yielded  him  nothing  at 
all,  and  the  second,  by  the  time  the  collector's  charges 
were  deducted,  provided  a  paltry  total  which  would  barely 
sustain  the  army  for  a  single  month. 

While  neither  Congress  nor  any  agent  of  Congress  was 
authorized  to  go  into  the  states  to  compel  them  to  do  their 
duty  by  the  Confederation,  Mr.  Morris  might  address 
them  by  letter.  He  urged  and  argued  and  exhausted  his 
persuasive  force.  He  appealed  to  their  pride  and  patriot- 


116  ROBERT   MORRIS 

ism.  When  these  methods  failed,  he  wrote  them  in  anger, 
and  threatened  to  resign.  His  own  circulars  to  the 
governors  awakening  no  response,  he  appealed  to  General 
Washington,  who  would  send  a  supplementary  circular  of 
his  own,  pressing  the  states  to  pay  their  quotas,  else  the 
army  must  disband.  And  Morris  did  not  confine  his 
attentions  to  the  governors.  He  also  wrote  to  such 
influential  friends  as  he  had  in  different  parts  of  the 
colonies,  to  prominent  members  of  the  legislatures,  and  to 
local  politicians.  In  short,  he  availed  himself  of  every 
resource  in  an  effort  to  stir  the  states  from  the  over 
whelming  stupor  which  rendered  them  powerless  to  help 
themselves  or  to  aid  each  other. 

Mr.  Morris  determined  that  he  would  no  longer  receive 
the  state  quotas  in  the  form  of  specific  supplies,  and  of 
course  he  would  have  no  more  paper  money.  The  paper 
he  was  intent  upon  taking  out  of  circulation,  and  he 
received  it,  together  with  provisions  during  the  first  few 
months  of  his  term,  on  old  requisitions  issued  before  he 
had  come  into  office.  Of  the  paper,  he  wrote  to  Franklin 
in  November,  1781,  that  he  hoped  now  to  be  able  to  bring 
in  "  all  this  useless  load."  "  If  I  could  buy  anything  with 
it,"  he  remarked,  "  I  would  not  until  the  last  necessity, 
but  it  will  buy  nothing,  so  that  it  must  be  burnt  as  soon  as 
it  honestly  can."  While  the  paper  money  was  to  be 
thrown  into  the  fire,  the  specifics  he  planned  to  sell. 
He  early  entered  into  arrangements  with  Washington  for 
disposing  of  the  stores  already  in  hand.  He  meant  to 
abolish  this  method  of  payment  in  future,  and  establish 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  117 

a  businesslike  contract  system  for  supplying  the  army 
with  rations,  clothing,  and  every  other  necessary  article  or 
service  now  provided  or  performed  by  the  states,  for  which 
they  demanded  credit  at  their  own  prices  on  the  Conti 
nental  requisitions. 

Washington  having  had  unhappy  experience  of  the 
system  of  specific  supplies,  his  army  nearly  starving  while 
waiting  for  the  states  to  furnish  it  with  food,  heartily 
seconded  Morris's  efforts  in  this  direction.  With  the 
year  1781  the  system  was  abolished.  The  quotas  for 
1782  were  estimated  in  terms  of  hard  money.  Congress, 
on  Morris's  and  Washington's  advice,  vested  the  Super 
intendent  with  power  to  sell  the  specifics,  such  as  flour, 
salted  meat,  cattle,  fish,  rum,  etc.,  which  the  states  had 
already  turned  over  to  the  Continent,  and  which  could  not 
be  made  available  in  provisioning  the  army.  The  states 
which  still  had  such  stores  in  hand  were  recommended  to 
sell  them  for  money  and  pay  their  taxes  with  the  proceeds, 
for  no  more  would  be  received  at  the  Office  of  Finance. 
As  may  be  imagined,  it  was  by  no  means  easy  to  effect  so 
important  a  reform  in  military  management.  The  states 
resisted  the  order,  more  through  their  impotency  and  their 
indisposition  to  any  exertion  in  support  of  the  Union,  than 
because  of  a  settled  conviction  that  the  new  plan  was  not 
better  than  the  old.  They  possessed  no  specie  with  which 
they  could  pay  their  taxes,  and  did  not  know  how  to  set 
about  getting  it.  They  could  collect  some  provisions 
from  the  farmers  and  planters  who  produced  them,  but 
money  was  nowhere  to  be  had.  Morris  went  his  way, 


118  ROBERT   MORRIS 

undeterred  by  complaints  or  the  assertions  of  those  who 
charged  him  with  adopting  an  impossible  course.  He  made 
contracts  with  responsible  persons  and  firms  for  supplying 
every  army  post.  Writing  to  Oliver  Phelps  of  Massachu 
setts  the  Superintendent  said:  "In  all  countries  engaged 
in  war,  experience  has  sooner  or  later  pointed  out  contracts 
with  private  men  of  substance  and  talents  equal  to  the  un 
dertaking,  as  the  cheapest,  most  certain,  and  consequently 
the  best  mode  of  obtaining  those  articles  which  are  neces 
sary  for  the  subsistence,  covering,  clothing,  and  moving  of 
an  army.  The  experience  of  other  countries  could  not  sat 
isfy  America.  We  must  have  it  of  our  own  acquiring, 
and  we  have  at  length  bought  it,  but  the  purchase  had 
nearly  been  our  ruin." 

It  was  one  of  the  principal  tasks  of  Mr.  Morris's 
administration  from  this  time  forward  to  advertise  for 
tenders,  to  choose  from  among  the  bidders  those  who 
gave  the  lowest  price  and  at  the  same  time  guaranteed 
the  most  satisfactory  service,  to  hold  the  men  to  their 
contracts  after  they  were  awarded,  and,  more  difficult 
still,  to  perform  his  own  part  and  make  good  his  promises 
regarding  the  necessary  cash  payments.  It  was  in  vain 
that  he  sought  money  from  the  states.  He  must  at 
times  discharge  old  contractors  in  order  to  get  better 
terms  from  new  ones.  In  such  cases  James  Madison 
writes  to  Edmund  Randolph  that  as  much  as  30  per 
cent  was  added  to  the  first  price  to  secure  a  credit 
of  three  months.  In  other  cases  contracts  were  divided 
and  distributed  in  order  to  secure  more  convenient  periods 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  119 

of  payment,  but  with  his  talent  for  putting  a  good  face 
upon  affairs  and  making  a  virtue  out  of  a  necessity, 
Morris  explained  to  General  Washington  that  this  was 
not  altogether  a  misfortune,  since  "it  is  more  consistent 
with  democratic  ideas  to  divide  things  of  this  kind 
amongst  a  number  of  freemen  rather  than  to  permit 
any  one  to  grasp  all  the  advantages.'* 

As  for  the  old  system  of  specifics,  he  declared  and  re 
iterated  that  it  was  not  to  be  tolerated,  long  after  he 
discovered  that  no  money  taxes  were  to  be  procured 
from  the  states.  "  I  bear  my  testimony  against  them," 
he  said,  "and  will  be  judged  by  the  event."  Specifics, 
he  remarked,  could  be  collected  only  after  long  delay, 
the  army  suffering  in  the  meantime  and  its  efficiency 
in  the  field  being  greatly  diminished.  A  sum  must  be 
called  for  in  excess  of  the  quotas  to  defray  the  cost 
of  collection  and  cover  the  insurance  against  loss. 
Moreover,  the  expense  of  transporting  the  supplies  from 
the  places  where  they  were  collected  into  magazines  in  the 
states  to  the  various  military  posts,  was  so  great  that  the 
freight  charges  often  amounted  to  more  than  the  pur 
chase  price  of  the  same  articles  in  the  army's  own  neigh 
borhood.  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode 
Island  on  January  14,  1782:  "The  taking  of  specific 
supplies  has  by  experience  been  found  to  be  unequal  to 
the  object  and  is  extremely  wasteful  and  expensive. 
Many  articles  produced  in  the  several  states,  in  them 
selves  very  valuable,  will  by  no  means  admit  of  trans 
portation,  and  even  those  which  will  admit  of  it  can 


120  ROBERT   MORRIS 

seldom  be  brought  to  where  they  must  be  consumed, 
but  at  an  expense  which  in  many  instances  exceeds  the 
original  value." 

Some  particularly  frank  expressions  of  opinion  for 
which  Mr.  Morris  was  noted  were  offered  to  Daniel 
Jenifer  of  Maryland,  that  state  having  been  a  trouble 
some  offender  on  the  subject  of  taxes  and  supplies.  To 
him  the  Financier  wrote :  "  It  is  a  vain  thing  to  suppose 
that  wars  can  be  carried  on  by  quibbles  and  puns,  and 
yet  laying  taxes  payable  in  specific  articles  amounts  to 
no  more,  for  with  a  great  sound  they  put  little  or  nothing 
in  the  Treasury.  I  know  of  no  persons  who  want  your 
specific  supplies,  and,  if  they  did,  rely  on  it,  that  they 
would  rather  contract  with  an  individual  of  any  state 
than  with  any  state  in  the  Union.  I  have  yet  met  with 
no  instance  in  which  the  articles  taken  in  for  taxes  are 
of  the  first  quality,  neither  do  I  expect  to  meet  with 
any;  and  so  little  reliance  can  be  placed  on  them  as  to 
punctuality  that  you  may  depend  they  can  never  be  sold 
but  at  a  loss.  This  I  have  experienced.  Somebody  or 
other  will  make  a  good  bargain  out  of  you,  and  the  best 
you  can  make  is  to  sell  before  the  expenses  eat  up  the 
whole.  This  will  be  buying  experience,  and  perhaps  it 
may  prove  a  cheap  purchase." 

It  was  in  November,  1781,  that  Congress,  following 
Mr.  Morris's  advice,  determined  to  lay  taxes  on  a  cash 
basis,  and  the  amount  of  revenue  required  from  the  states 
for  the  service  of  the  year  1782  was  estimated  at 
88,000,000.  This  was  the  smallest  sum  that  would  meet 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  121 

the  country's  needs,  the  Financier  declared,  and  he  told 
the  states  they  were  making  a  good  bargain.  It  was  only 
by  enforcing  strict  economies  and  confining  the  estimates 
to  the  most  essential  branches  of  the  service  that  the 
requisitions  were  kept  within  these  modest  bounds.  In 
no  previous  year  had  the  war  cost  less  than  $20,000,000. 
The  whole  draft  was  apportioned  among  the  states 
by  quotas  according  to  population,  and  the  payments 
were  to  be  made  at  quarterly  periods,  time  enough 
being  afforded  each  state  to  pass  suitable  laws  and  put 
the  machinery  in  motion  for  collecting  the  taxes  from 
the  people  before  the  payments  should  begin.  The  first 
quarterly  requisition  did  not  fall  due  until  April  1,  1782, 
and  Morris,  until  he  was  sorely  disabused  of  his  hope, 
assumed  that  the  states  were  well-disposed  and  solvent 
governments,  as  able  to  meet  their  obligations  as  Holland, 
Spain,  or  France.  His  communications  were  nearly  always 
directed  to  the  governors  in  the  form  of  "  Circulars," 
which  went  to  several  and  oftentimes  all  the  heads  of  the 
state  governments  simultaneously.  It  was  upon  the  states 
that  he  must  rely.  "  If  the  several  legislatures,"  he  wrote 
to  Washington,  soon  after  he  assumed  his  office,  "will 
only  do  their  part  with  vigor,  I  shall  have  the  strongest 
hopes  of  putting  a  much  better  face  on  our  monied  affairs 
in  a  short  time,  but  without  their  aid  the  wheels  will 
go  heavily  round.  I  shall  therefore  ply  them  closely." 

One  of  Morris's  first  communications  to  the  governors, 
which  left  Philadelphia  on  July  25,  1781,  concerned  the 
settlement  of  the  accounts  outstanding  between  the  sev- 


122  ROBERT   MORRIS 

eral  states  and  the  Continent.  He  sent  to  each  a  certified 
statement  as  to  its  indebtedness  to  the  Union  under  the 
various  requisitions  of  Congress,  as  the  account  stood 
on  the  books  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  He 
did  not  make  any  entries  on  the  credit  side  of  the  account 
to  indicate  what  monies,  supplies,  transportation,  and 
other  services  each  separate  state  had  furnished  the  Union. 
The  affairs  of  the  Treasury  had  been  so  carelessly  man 
aged  that  no  record  of  credits  had  been  kept,  and  he  ap 
pealed  to  the  governors  to  fill  in  these  amounts  in  order  that 
he  might  know  what  remained  due.  He  asked,  too,  for 
copies  of  the  laws  of  each  state  relating  to  the  collection 
of  taxes  and  information  as  to  the  manner  in  which  these 
laws  were  being  executed.  He  further  requested  that 
he  might  be  told  of  the  amount  and  character  of  the  paper 
currencies  still  circulating  in  the  states,  and  also  as  to 
"what  monies  are  in  your  treasury,  and  what  sums  you 
expect  to  have  there,  as  also  the  times  by  which  they 
must  probably  be  brought  in."  Mr.  Morris  explained 
that  it  was  a  part  of  his  policy  as  Superintendent  of 
Finance,  to  settle  all  outstanding  accounts  with  the  states, 
making  the  clear  declaration  of  his  plans  and  purposes 
which  follows :  — 

"  These  accounts  must  be  adjusted  as  soon  as  proper 
officers  can  be  found  and  appointed  for  the  purpose  and 
proper  principles  established  so  that  they  may  be  liqui 
dated  in  an  equitable  manner.  I  say,  Sir,  in  an  equitable 
manner,  for  I  am  determined  that  justice  shall  be  the  rule 
of  my  conduct  as  far  as  the  measure  of  abilities,  which 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  123 

the  Almighty  has  been  pleased  to  bestow,  shall  enable  me 
to  distinguish  between  right  and  wrong.  I  shall  never 
point  a  doubt  that  the  states  will  do  what  is  right; 
neither  will  I  ever  believe  that  any  one  of  them  can  expect 
to  derive  advantage  from  doing  what  is  wrong.  It  is  by 
being  just  to  individuals,  to  each  other,  to  the  Union,  to 
all,  by  generous  grants  of  solid  revenue  and  by  adopting 
energetic  methods  to  collect  that  revenue,  and  not  by  com 
plainings,  vauntings,  or  recriminations  that  these  states 
must  expect  to  establish  their  independence  and  rise  into 
power,  consequence,  and  grandeur.  ...  To  palliate  or 
conceal  any  evils  or  disorders  in  our  situation  can  answer 
no  good  purpose ;  they  must  be  known  before  they  can 
be  cured.  We  must  also  know  what  resources  can  be 
brought  forth,  that  we  may  proportion  our  efforts  to  our 
means  and  our  demands  to  both.  It  is  necessary  that  we 
should  be  in  condition  to  prosecute  the  war  with  ease, 
before  we  can  expect  to  lay  down  our  arms  with  security, 
before  we  can  treat  of  peace  honorably,  and  before  we 
can  conclude  it  with  advantage." 

Far  from  receiving  this  circular  in  the  spirit  in  which 
\4tjwas  penned,  the  governors  seemed  to  consider  that  the 
matters  on  which  Mr.  Morris  asked  for  information  did 
not  appertain  to  his  line  of  duty.  They,  at  any  rate, 
vouchsafed  no  replies,  or  at  best  very  evasive  and  un 
satisfactory  ones.  The  task  of  settling  the  accounts  with 
the  states  remained  to  aggravate  the  Financier  until  the 
end  of  his  term,  and  finally  served  as  one  of  the  grounds 
for  his  going  out  of  office. 


124  ROBERT   MORRIS 

For  the  year  1781,  while  specifics  were  still  being  ac 
cepted  by  Mr.  Morris,  the  requisitions  having  been  made 
before  his  administration  began,  cash  payments  from  the 
states  could  not  be  expected.  By  the  arrangements  which 
he  had  succeeded  in  perfecting  while  in  the  legislature, 
however,  the  finances  of  Pennsylvania  were  put  in  such  a 
condition  that  the  state  turned  into  the  Continental  Treas 
ury  about  $  180,000  for  the  services  of  1781,  some  of  it  in 
hard  money,  and  the  rest  in  paper  based  upon  adequate  tax 
laws  and  guaranteed  revenues.  Not  another  state  in  the 
Union  paid  a  shilling  to  Mr.  Morris  for  carrying  on  the 
military  operations  for  that  year,  and  he  was  prevented 
from  applying  the  Pennsylvania  currency  to  immediate 
uses  since  it  was  rapidly  rising  in  value,  and  his  financial 
judgment  impelled  him  to  hold  it  until  it  would  yield  him 
a  maximum  amount.  He  wrote  to  the  President  of  Con 
gress  on  October  18,  1781 :  "  When  I  say  that  I  cannot 
command  more  than  one-twentieth  of  the  sum  necessary 
for  the  current  services  of  the  year,  I  am  within  the 
strictest  bounds  of  truth." 

Beginning  with  the  new  year,  however,  the  privilege  of 
paying  the  quotas,  or  any  part  of  them  in  provisions,  and 
supplies  having  been  abolished,  and  the  sum  of  $8,000,000 
having  been  called  for,  payable  in  specie  or  its  equivalent, 
Mr.  Morris  hoped  for  better  things.  The  first  quarterly 
payment  of  §2,000,000  was  due  on  April  1,  but  before  that 
auspicious  date  arrived,  the  Financier  foresaw  that  he 
would  be  able  to  make  but  a  very  small  collection.  On 
February  11,  1782,  he  wrote  to  the  President  of  Con- 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  125 

gress :  "  I  would  to  God  that  I  could  say  that  there  were 
even  the  appearances  of  general  vigor  and  exertion.  But 
the  truth  is  very  different.  The  United  States  have 
called  for  eight  millions  of  dollars  early  in  November 
last,  of  which  the  first  quarterly  payment  was  to  have 
been  made  on  the  first  day  of  April  next,  but  I  cannot 
find  that  a  single  state  has  yet  laid  the  taxes." 

"I  neither  know  what  they  will  think  proper  to  give, 
nor  when,"  he  added.  "  Happy  to  experience  a  momen 
tary  relief  from  the  clamor  and  revolt  of  a  starving  army, 
from  the  rage  and  devastation  of  an  inveterate  enemy, 
and  from  the  waste  and  extravagance  of  cumbrous,  un 
wieldy  departments,  there  appears  to  be  no  solicitude 
anywhere  for  the  support  of  arrangements  on  which  the 
salvation  of  our  country  depends." 

The  first  day  of  April  came,  and  Mr.  Morris  waited 
until  May,  when  about  $5500  were  received  from  New 
Jersey,  a  payment  on  account  of  that  state's  quota.  Not 
a  dollar  had  come  from  any  other  state  in  the  Union,  nor 
was  there  apology  for  the  delay  or  promise  of  future 
payment.  He  had  made  many  appeals  to  the  governors 
unavailingly,  and  on  May  16,  1782,  he  wrote  his  most  elo 
quent  circular  letter.  The  Superintendent  felt  that  he  had 
exhausted  his  last  resource.  "  The  habitual  inattention 
of  the  states,"  he  wrote  to  Congress,  "  has  reduced  us  to 
the  brink  of  ruin."  But  he  was  fearful  that  if  the  true 
condition  of  the  country's  finances  were  known,  the  fact 
would  give  comfort  to  the  Tories  at  home  and  to  the  foe 
in  Great  Britain ;  so  he  took  the  precaution  to  ask  the 


126  ROBERT   MORRIS 

opinion  of  Congress  whether  the  letter  should  be  trans 
mitted  or  suppressed.  The  public  departments  had  worked 
themselves  to  a  standstill.  New  Jersey's  contribution  cal 
culating  the  national  expenses  at  eight  millions  of  dollars 
annually  was,  Mr.  Morris  said,  only  about  one-fourth  of 
what  was  necessary  to  support  the  government  for  a  single 
day.  This  famous  circular  ran  as  follows :  — 

"  OFFICE  OF  FINANCE,  May  16,  1782. 

"  SIB  :  I  have  heretofore  taken  occasion  to  observe  that 
the  former  expenditures  of  the  United  States  were  at  a 
medium  rate  of  twenty  millions  of  dollars  annually  for 
the  support  of  the  war.  At  the  present  moment,  while 
laboring  under  a  large  debt,  only  eight  millions  have  been 
asked  for.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  sum  now 
required  is  as  little  as  can  possibly  answer  the  purpose. 
I  venture  to  say  that  it  is  not  enough.  According  to  the 
estimates  for  the  year  1782,  which  were  laid  before  Con 
gress  by  the  late  Board  of  War,  the  present  establishment 
of  the  army  would  require  for  pay,  exclusive  of  the  half 
pay,  near  three  millions  and  a  half,  for  rations  near  two 
millions  and  a  half,  for  clothing,  about  twelve  hundred 
thousand,  for  forage  above  three  hundred  thousand,  for 
the  Quarter  Master's  department  (exclusive  of  articles 
on  hand)  above  eight  hundred  thousand,  for  military 
stores  (exclusive  of  articles  on  hand)  near  two  hundred 
thousand,  for  the  hospitals  (exclusive  of  medicine,  and 
also  of  sundry  stores  on  hand)  above  one  hundred 
thousand. 

"If  to  all  these   be  added   the  sum  of  four  hundred 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  127 

thousand  for  the  Departments  of  the  Pay  Office,  Com 
missary  of  Prisoners,  and  the  various  other  contingencies 
of  service,  which  naturally  and  necessarily  arise,  without 
mentioning  the  losses,  which  happen  in  war,  here  will  be 
an  aggregate  amount  of  nine  millions,  and  in  this  sum 
nothing  is  estimated  for  the  interest  of  our  debts,  for  the 
Marine,  and  for  the  Civil  List,  and  the  Department  of 
Foreign  Affairs. 

"  Of  the  various  expenditures,  much  was  to  be  provided 
immediately.  The  heavy  article  of  clothing,  for  instance, 
was  indispensable.  Many  things  were  to  be  provided 
early,  in  order  that  the  army  might  operate,  and  the  sub 
sistence  is  to  be  paid  for  regularly  and  constantly.  Yet 
the  states  have  not  been  asked  for  any  money  before  the 
1st  day  of  April ;  and  I  appeal  to  them  all,  whether  the 
supplies  of  money  they  have  afforded  me  for  the  last  year 
were  such  as  would  enable  me  to  provide  for  the  present. 

"A  three  months'  expenditure  was  permitted  by  Con 
gress  to  elapse,  before  the  first  payment  of  two  millions 
was  asked  from  the  states;  but  what  have  they  done? 
While  I  write  this  letter,  near  two  months  more  are  gone 
forever,  and  a  dishonorable  neglect  endangers  our  coun 
try.  Little  local  objects  have  postponed  those  measures, 
which  are  essential  to  our  existence,  so  that  the  most 
fatal  consequences  are  now  suspended  but  by  a  thread. 
Should  they  fall  on  our  heads,  this  solemn  protest  shall 
point  to  the  real  cause  of  our  calamities.  I  write,  Sir, 
to  apprise  you  of  the  public  danger,  and  to  tell  you 
I  shall  endeavor  to  fulfil  engagements,  which  I  have 


128  ROBERT   MORRIS 

entered  iiito  already,  that  I  may  quit  my  station  like  an 
honest  man.  But  I  will  make  no  new  engagements,  so 
that  the  public  service  must  necessarily  stand  still. 
What  the  consequences  may  be  I  know  not,  but  the  fault 
is  in  the  states.  They  have  not  complied  with  the 
requisitions  of  Congress.  They  have  not  enabled  me  to 
go  on.  They  have  not  given  me  one  shilling  for  the 
service  of  the  year  1782,  excepting  only  the  state  of  New 
Jersey,  from  which  I  received  five  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  a  few  days  ago,  and  this  is  all  that  has  come  to 
my  hands  out  of  two  millions,  which  were  asked  for. 

"  Now,  Sir,  should  the  army  disband,  and  should  scenes 
of  distress  and  horror  be  reiterated  and  accumulated,  I 
again  repeat  that  I  am  guiltless;  the  fault  is  in  the 
states;  they  have  been  deaf  to  the  calls  of  Congress,  to 
the  clamors  of  the  public  creditors,  to  the  just  demands 
of  a  suffering  army,  and  even  to  the  reproaches  of  the 
enemy,  who  scoffingly  declare  that  the  American  army  is 
fed,  paid,  and  clothed  by  France.  That  assertion,  so 
dishonorable  to  America,  was  true,  but  the  kindness  of 
France  has  its  bounds,  and  our  army,  unfed,  unpaid,  and 
unclothed,  will  have  to  subsist  itself,  or  disband  itself. 

"This  language  may  appear  extraordinary,  but  at  a 
future  day,  when  my  transactions  shall  be  laid  bare  to 
public  view,  it  will  be  justified.  This  language  may 
not  consist  with  the  ideas  of  dignity  which  some  men 
entertain.  But,  Sir,  dignity  is  in  duty  and  in  virtue, 
not  in  the  sound  of  swelling  expressions.  Congress  may 
dismiss  their  servants,  and  the  states  may  dismiss  their 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  129 

Congress,  but  it  is  by  rectitude  alone  that  man  can  be 
respectable.  I  have  early  declared  our  situation,  as  far 
as  prudence  would  permit,  and  I  am  now  compelled  to 
transgress  the  bounds  of  prudence  by  being  forced  to 
declare,  that  unless  vigorous  exertions  are  made  to  put 
money  into  the  Treasury,  we  must  be  ruined.  I  have 
borne  with  delays  and  disappointments  as  long  as  I 
could,  and  nothing  but  hard  necessity  would  have 
wrung  from  me  the  sentiments  which  I  have  now 

expressed. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc. 

"  ROBERT  MOKKIS." 

Congress,  however,  advised  against  sending  out  the 
letter.  It  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which  James 
Madison,  Governor  Rutledge,  George  Clymer,  and  two 
others  were  members,  and  while  there  could  be  no 
doubt  as  to  the  extreme  negligence  of  the  states  and 
the  gravity  of  the  situation  induced  by  their  neglect, 
these  gentlemen  decided  that  it  would  be  the  safer 
course  not  to  address  the  governors  thus  publicly  in  a 
way  to  expose  the  weakness  of  the  American  cause. 
They  recommended  that  commissioners  be  sent  instead 
to  the  governors  and  legislatures,  to  endeavor  by  per 
sonal  influence  to  incite  the  states  to  greater  activity. 
If  this  course  be  taken,  Morris  urged  that  the  members 
of  the  committee  of  Congress  should  begin  at  home. 
They  were  in  Philadelphia.  The  responsible  officials  of 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania  were  in  that  city.  Pennsyl 
vania's  share  for  the  year  1782  was  one-eighth  of  the 


130  ROBERT   MORRIS 

whole  amount  called  for.  While  some  money  had  come 
in  from  that  state  in  1781,  not  one  cent  had  yet  been 
provided  for  the  service  of  the  year  1782.  The  Con 
gressmen  might  test  their  own  abilities  as  missionaries 
without  leaving  the  city.  They  promised  that  they  would 
do  this.  They  agreed  to  meet  with  the  officers  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  explain  the  urgent  needs  of  the  Union,  and 
as  a  result  of  their  experience,  acquired  some  practical 
knowledge  of  the  great  difficulties  under  which  the  Super 
intendent  of  Finance  must  labor  in  his  effort  "  to  keep 
the  money  machine  a-going,"  to  adopt  Hamilton's  phrase. 

But  personal  appeals  and  frequent  letters,  scarcely 
milder  in  tone  than  that  one  which  Congress  had  sup 
pressed,  were  all  in  vain.  On  May  16  only  $5500  had 
been  received  from  the  states.  On  June  1  the  Finan 
cier  wrote  to  Washington  that  the  receipts  did  not 
yet  amount  to  $20,000.  The  expenses,  if  they  were 
reckoned  at  eight  millions  a  year,  ran  on  at  a  rate  of 
$20,000  a  day,  and  in  this  estimate  of  eight  millions, 
provision  had  not  been  made  for  several  essential 
branches  of  the  service.  On  July  30  he  wrote  to  the 
President  of  Congress  that  he  had  not  yet  received 
$50,000  out  of  $4,000,000  then  owing  him  by  the  states, 
a  second  instalment  of  $2,000,000  having  fallen  due  on 
July  1.  Up  to  September  1  the  payments  barely 
amounted  to  $125,000,  and  Morris  estimated  the  ex 
penses  for  the  next  year,  1783,  at  $9,000,000,  four  mil 
lions  of  which  he  would  try  to  secure  in  loans  abroad, 
reducing  the  quotas  of  the  states  to  $5,000,000.  But  the 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  131 

futility  of  making  new  demands  when  old  ones  were 
still  unheeded,  deterred  Congress  from  calling  for  more 
than  two  millions  of  this  amount.  Here  then  was  a 
total  cash  requisition  of  $10,000,000  during  Morris's 
term  of  office.  On  July  28,  1783,  he  said  that  all 
taxes  brought  into  the  Treasury  from  every  source, 
from  the  first  day  of  his  administration,  did  not  amount 
to  $750,000.  Up  to  July  1,  1783,  only  South  Carolina 
had  paid  her  full  quota  for  1782,  and  this  came  in  the 
form  of  supplies  and  troops  for  the  Southern  army,  for 
the  Financier  had  been  compelled  to  abate  a  little  his 
determination  to^  receive  no  more  payments  in  specifics. 
Of  the  other  states  of  the  Union,  Rhode  Island  had 
paid  but  one-fourth  of  her  quota,  Pennsylvania  one- 
fifth,  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey  each  a  seventh, 
Massachusetts  one-eighth,  Virginia  one-half,  New  York 
and  Maryland  only  one-twentieth  each,  New  Hampshire 
one  one-hundred-and-twenty-first  part,  and  North  Caro 
lina,  Delaware,  and  Georgia  nothing  at  all. 

Mr.  Morris  hoped  on,  pleaded  on.  He  dealt  out  praise 
and  blame  alternately.  He  encouraged  states  which 
seemed  disposed  to  recognize  the  force  of  their  obliga 
tions,  and  exhausted  the  English  vocabulary  in  his 
appeals  to  such  derelicts  as  Maryland,  Rhode  Island, 
and  Virginia.  "While  I  assure  you  that  nothing  but 
the  urgency  of  our  affairs  would  render  me  thus  impor 
tunate,"  he  wrote  almost  gayly  one  time,  "I  must  also 
assure  you  that  while  those  affairs  continue  so  urgent, 
I  must  continue  to  importune." 


132  ROBERT   MORRIS 

He  told  Congress  that  "  the  states  have  furnished  offi 
cers,  and  transmitted  a  variety  of  accounts,  demands,  and 
complaints."  He  observed  again  that  "while  officers 
continue  numerous,  the  states  have  neglected  to  provide 
soldiers,"  and  he  shrewdly  suggested  that  if  they  were 
indisposed  to  supply  fighting  men  who  could  serve  humbly 
in  the  line,  that  "the  Continent  ought  not  to  pay  their 
officers." 

But  while  the  states  were  very  slow  to  pay  anything 
inta  the  Treasury,  they  were  free  with  their  advice  as 
to  how  public  monies  should  be  expended.  If  a  state 
paid  specie  to  Philadelphia  for  the  support  of  the  Union, 
it  loudly  insisted  that  the  money  should  be  used  in  that 
state  for  the  purchase  of  military  supplies,  so  that  the 
people  might  have  the  opportunity  of  recovering  it  again. 
Pennsylvania  wanted  to  furnish  the  Continent  with  wheat ; 
Rhode  Island  with  blankets  and  woollen  clothing.  Mr. 
Morris  curtly  told  governors  and  officers  of  states  who 
came  to  him  with  such  proposals  and  complaints,  that 
he  made  purchases  for  the  army  where  the  best  goods 
could  be  had  on  the  most  advantageous  terms  to  the 
Union  without  regard  to  any  local  consideration. 

"What  in  the  name  of  Heaven,"  he  wrote  to  Virginia 
on  July  9,  1782,  "can  be  expected  by  the  people  of 
America  but  absolute  ruin,  if  they  are  so  inattentive  to 
the  public  service.  Not  until  December  will  Virginia 
give  anything  you  say  toward  the  service  of  the  current 
year.  How,  then,  are  we  to  carry  on  those  operations 
which  are  necessary?  How  is  our  country  to  be  de- 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  133 

fended?  How  is  our  army  to  be  supported?  Is  this 
what  is  meant  by  the  solemn  declaration  to  support  with 
life  and  fortune  the  independence  of  the  United  States?" 
He  tells  Maryland,  in  1782,  that  he  is  so  "habituated  to 
receive  apologies  instead  of  money"  that  he  has  ceased 
to  express  surprise  at  the  dereliction  of  the  states.  "If 
complaints  of  difficulties  were  equivalent  to  cash,"  Mr. 
Morris  adds,  "  I  should  not  complain  that  the  quotas  are 
unpaid.  But  unluckily  this  is  not  the  case,  and  if  the 
states  really  mean  to  prosecute  the  war,  something  more 
must  be  done  than  merely  pass  declaratory  resolutions, 
for  no  man  can  be  found  who  will  for  such  resolutions 
supply  food  to  our  army." 

To  Maryland  he  wrote  again  a  little  later  in  the  year : 
"Every  operation  is  at  present  supported  by  credit,  and 
that  credit  has  long  hung  but  by  a  thread.  Unless  the 
states  give  speedy  and  effectual  aid,  that  thread  must 
break.  It  would  long  since  have  broken,  and  scenes  of 
military  pillage,  waste,  murmuring,  extravagance,  and 
confusion  would  again  have  opened  if  I  had  not  for  some 
time  declined  all  expenditure  except  what  was  necessary 
merely  to  feed  the  army." 

"The  states,  Sir,  must  give  money,"  he  wrote  to  the 
Governor  of  Maryland,  "  or  the  army  must  disband." 

A  circular  to  the  governors  in  October,  1782,  conceived 
in  a  different  mood,  breathes  with  eloquence  :  "  There 
are  certain  arguments,  Sir,  which  ought  not  to  be  used 
if  it  is  possible  to  avoid  them;  but  which  every  one 
invested  with  public  authority  should  suggest  to  his  own 


134  ROBERT   MORRIS 

mind  for  the  government  of  his  own  conduct.  How  long 
is  a  nation  who  will  do  nothing  for  itself  to  rely  on  the 
aid  of  others?  The  moral  causes  that  may  procrasti 
nate  or  precipitate  events  are  hidden  from  mortal  view. 
But  it  is  within  the  bounds  of  human  knowledge  to 
determine  that  all  earthly  things  have  some  limits  which 
it  is  imprudent  to  exceed,  others  which  it  is  dangerous 
to  exceed,  and  some  which  can  never  be  exceeded." 

On  several  occasions  Mr.  Morris  threatened  the  states 
with  military  collections,  a  policy  which  was  generally 
avoided  during  the  war,  except  in  the  Southern  states. 
If  the  Treasury  should  be  unable  to  pay  the  contractors 
for  necessary  supplies  furnished  the  army,  no  other  course 
seemed  to  offer.  Other  expenses  could  be  curtailed; 
other  creditors  could  be  made  to  wait  until  a  more  con 
venient  hour.  The  army  must  be  fed,  and  thousands  of 
men,  as  Mr.  Morris  pointed  out,  would  not  starve  "in 
the  midst  of  a  plentiful  country."  The  Financier  gave 
the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  some  simple  lessons  in 
logic.  He  wrote  to  this  offender  who  required  so  much 
epistolary  attention :  — 

"  The  supplies  must  be  obtained  by  loans  or  taxes,  so 
that  if  they  cannot  be  obtained  by  loans,  taxation  is  the 
only  resource  ;  and  in  that  case  there  is  no  medium  between 
legal  taxation  and  military  collection.  For  if  we  will  not 
submit  to  Great  Britain,  we  must  carry  on  the  war;  and 
if  we  carry  on  the  war,  we  must  obtain  the  means ;  and  if 
we  cannot  get  the  means  abroad,  we  must  provide  them  at 
home ;  and  if  we  do  not  provide  them  by  law,  they  must 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  135 

be  taken  by  force.  The  inattention  of  the  states  to  the 
requisitions  of  the  United  States  leaves  Congress  no  choice 
between  loans  and  military  collections." 

To  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  another  state  the  dere 
liction  of  which  was  open  and  notorious,  Morris  in  a  differ 
ent  spirit  wrote  in  September,  1782,  as  follows :  "  I  do 
assure  you,  Sir,  the  affairs  of  America  are  brought  into  a 
most  critical  situation  by  the  delays  and  neglects  which 
have  happened  in  taxation ;  so  much  so  that  the  boldest 
man  could  not  answer  for  the  consequences.  That  cir 
cumstances  of  the  most  alarming  nature  have  not  already 
happened  must  be  considered  as  a  kind  of  miracle."  All 
the  states,  the  Financier  remarked,  were  "  far  too  languid" ; 
but  Connecticut  was  "exemplarily  so,"  yet  like  all  the 
rest  the  people  have  "no  sort  of  objection  to  boast  of 
their  own  exertions." 

State  officers,  when  attention  was  directed  to  their  leth 
argy,  asserted  freely  that  their  state  had  done  as  much  as 
some  other.  Each  aimed  to  show  that  its  sacrifices  for 
the  cause  of  independence  outweighed  its  benefits  and 
entitled  it  to  immunity  from  fresh  requisitions.  Each 
"  would  be  very  happy  to  apologize  to  the  world  for  doing 
nothing  with  the  thin  and  flimsy  pretext  that  it  has  been 
asked  to  do  too  much."  The  states  could  not  pay  taxes 
in  money,  for  all  the  specie  had  been  taken  out  of  circula 
tion,  and  the  people  were  reduced  to  such  poverty  that 
nothing  could  be  collected  from  them.  Jealousy  and  bick 
ering  among  the  different  colonies  marked  all  their  finan 
cial  relations,  and  Mr.  Morris  was  in  continual  warfare 


136  ROBERT   MORRIS 

with  this  mean,  local  sentiment  that  pervaded  every  part 
of  the  Confederation.  It  made  demands  upon  his  full 
store  of  forbearance  and  good  humor,  especially  as  he  was 
often  brought  into  the  argument  in  a  personal  way.  His 
policy  was  frequently  pointed  to  as  the  cause  of  the  peo 
ple's  financial  misfortunes.  The  charges  brought  forward 
in  Virginia  caused  especial  annoyance  to  the  Financier. 
The  Virginians  asserted  that  he  had  favored  Pennsylvania, 
in  which  state  he  had  important  commercial  connections, 
and  that  he  used  his  office  to  impoverish  and  draw  specie 
away  from  the  Southern  and  Eastern  states.  To  such 
attacks  Mr.  Morris  was  always  ready  with  some  withering 
rejoinder.  He  informed  Virginia,  that  far  from  draining 
that  state  and  New  England,  he,  with  all  his  endeavors 
since  coming  into  office,  had  not  succeeded  in  getting  one 
shilling  of  specie  from  any  state  except  Pennsylvania  ;  on 
the  other  hand,  he  had  sent  specie  to  the  other  states  for 
the  purchase  of  supplies.  As  for  Pennsylvania  keeping 
Virginia  poor,  it  was  a  ridiculous  assertion.  He  thought 
that  Pennsylvania  might  sometime  become  rich.  The  soil 
and  climate  were  good,  the  people  quiet  and  industrious, 
"  and  their  rulers,"  Mr.  Morris  said,  "  encourage  commerce, 
have  laid  aside  all  the  idle  systems  of  specific  supplies,  and 
content  themselves  with  laying  money  taxes.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,"  he  moralized,  "but  that  such  a  people 
must  become  rich.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Virginia  or  any 
state  be  poor,  it  must  be  her  own  fault.  Prudence,  dili 
gence,  and  economy  promote  national  prosperity;  and 
vice,  indolence,  and  prodigality  involve  national  ruin." 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  137 

The  means  of  bringing  money  into  a  country,  he  said,  lay 
ing  down  some  plain  business  rules,  are  very  simple,  being 
nothing  more  than  creating  a  demand  for  it.  "  If  every 
man  be  obliged  to  get  some  money,  every  man  must  part 
with  something  to  get  money.  This  makes  things  cheap, 
and  those  who  have  money  always  choose  to  expend  it 
where  things  are  cheapest.  If  money  is  due  from  Virginia 
to  Pennsylvania  or  Maryland,  it  must  go  thither,  and  the 
only  way  to  get  it  back  again  is  to  sell  something  cheaper 
than  Pennsylvania  or  Maryland  will  sell  it." 

Mr.  Morris  never  wearied  of  bearing  testimony  in 
favor  of  free  trade,  and  again  and  again  admonished 
the  governors  as  to  the  evils  which  they  invited  by  em 
bargoes.  He  had  been  a  leading  influence  to  abolish  this 
system  in  Pennsylvania,  being  appointed  by  the  legis 
lature  as  its  agent  to  furnish  the  army  with  the  state's 
quota  of  specific  supplies,  just  prior  to  his  appointment 
as  Superintendent  of  Finance.  In  this  work  he  was  op 
posed  by  many  Pennsylvanians  who  believed  in  a  different 
policy.  He  was  told  that  he  must  personally  answer  for 
it  if  the  army  suffered  as  a  result  of  the  repeal  of  the  law. 
But  in  a  few  months  all  that  he  had  foretold  came  to  pass. 
All  the  ships  in  the  service  were  busy  carrying  flour  to 
the  French  and  Spanish  islands.  The  port  of  Philadel 
phia  was  rilled  in  return  with  vessels  laden  with  West 
Indian  produce  which  brought  with  them  some  European 
goods  and  Spanish  dollars.  Flour,  to  the  amazement  of 
the  people,  still  remained  plenty,  and  there  was  not  a  day, 
Mr.  Morris  asserted,  when  he  could  not  buy  five  to  ten 


138  ROBERT   MORRIS 

thousand  barrels  in  Philadelphia.  The  price  in  the  mean 
time  had  fallen  from  28  and  30  to  17  shillings,  and  he 
thought  15  shillings  or  two  hard  dollars  would  soon  suffice 
to  buy  112  pounds.  "  Commerce  should  be  perfectly 
free,"  he  argued,  "and  property  sacredly  secure  to  the 
owner." 

In  1782  he  gave  some  useful  advice  to  the  Governor  of 
North  Carolina,  who  had  prohibited  certain  classes  of  mer 
chandise  from  being  taken  out  of  the  state  lest  none  might 
remain  for  the  use  of  the  United  States.  While  he  might 
be  suspected  here  of  exceeding  the  authority  with  which 
Congress  had  vested  him,  such  a  consideration  seldom  de 
terred  Robert  Morris  when  he  saw  an  opportunity  to  per 
form  what  he  considered  to  be  a  patriotic  service.  He  said 
to  North  Carolina  on  the  subject  of  its  embargoes :  "  While 
I  feel  it  my  duty  to  require  justice  for  the  United  States, 
it  is  equally  my  duty  to  take  care  that  equal  justice  be 
done  to  the  several  states,  individually  considered,  as  well 
as  to  individuals  which  compose  them.  I  am  therefore  to 
request  that  all  such  restrictions  be  taken  off.  They  sour 
people's  minds,  destroy  the  spirit  of  industry,  impair  by  a 
rapid  as  well  as  a  certain  progress  the  public  wealth  of  the 
state,  producing  a  dearth  of  the  things  embargoed,  enhanc 
ing  the  prices  far  more  than  they  could  have  been  in 
creased  by  any  other  mode.  Whereas  perfect  freedom 
makes  the  people  easy,  happy,  rich,  and  able  to  pay  taxes, 
and  the  taxes  when  paid  can  be  expended  amid  a  plenty  of 
products,  and  consequently  be  expended  to  advantage.  I 
say  a  plenty  of  products,  because  I  know  that  liberty  to 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  139 

dispose  of  them  to  the  greatest  advantage  will  encourage 
men  to  raise  them  and  produce  a  plenty." 

Many  times  Mr.  Morris  was  compelled  to  iterate  and  re 
iterate  that  no  more  taxes  would  be  received  in  the  form 
of  specifics.  Congress  asked  only  for  men  and  money, 
he  complained,  and  it  got  officers  and  a  few  supplies 
bestowed  with  a  sparing  hand.  Goods  were  not  called 
for,  nor  would  they  be  taken  for  the  service  of  1782. 
"  If  these  plans  are  broken  in  upon  and  every  state 
again  permitted  to  expend  the  money  of  the  Union 
according  to  their  pleasure,"  he  wrote  to  Congress,  "  it 
will  be  impossible  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  America 
either  with  regularity  or  economy."  He  wished  Congress 
to  pass  a  resolution  that  money  advanced  by  any  state  to 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  American  army,  as  pay  for 
the  year  1782,  be  not  credited  to  the  state  making  such 
unauthorized  payment  and  be  considered  as  a  "  free  gift." 
To  Maryland  he  wrote  that  "  no  articles  can  be  admitted 
in  deduction  from  the  amount  of  the  quota,"  for  1782,  but 
payments  in  cash.  He  would  "  pass  no  other  expen 
diture,"  and  while  Congress  might  do  so  if  they  chose, 
"  I  persuade  myself  that  they  will  not,"  he  said,  "  because 
if  every  state  is  permitted  to  spend  the  money  raised 
within  it  as  it  pleases,  there  is  no  longer  any  need  of  such 
an  institution  as  Congress."  Only  an  absolute  prohibi 
tion,  he  argued,  can  prevent  "  those  intricate  accounts 
which  hitherto  have  involved  everything  in  a  labyrinth  of 
confusion." 

But  in  spite  of  his  rigid  determination,  so  frequently 


140  ROBERT  MORRIS 

expressed,  there  were  many  cases  in  which  Mr.  Morris 
must  accept  supplies  or  receive  nothing.  He  was  obliged 
to  take  specifics  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  where 
the  Southern  army,  under  General  Greene,  lacked  the 
commonest  necessities  of  daily  life.  He  secured  tobacco 
from  Virginia  and  sold  it  in  Europe  for  specie,  thus 
being  led  into  commercial  transactions  of  magnitude, 
which  were  sometimes  very  profitable  to  the  Continent. 
Again  and  again  he  was  compelled  to  take  various  kinds 
of  merchantable  goods  from  some  dilatory  state  in  the 
hope  of  converting  them  into  cash  to  meet  the  press 
ing  demands  of  the  contractors. 

The  system  of  taxation  which  prevailed  under  the 
Confederation  was  peculiar.  It  seemed  an  absurdity 
that  the  Union  should  have  the  right  to  a  tax  and  yet 
be  without  the  power  to  enter  a  state  to  collect  it.  It 
was  a  constant  study  with  Mr.  Morris  to  go  as  far  as 
he  constitutionally  could  in  the  exercise  of  his  financial 
functions,  never  forgetting,  when  he  felt  the  limitations 
which  the  system  imposed  upon  him,  to  call  attention 
forcibly  to  its  grave  defects.  Congress,  early  in  the 
progress  of  the  war,  had  appointed  loan  officers  in  the 
various  states  who  negotiated  domestic  loans  of  money 
and  property,  issuing  therefor  interest-bearing  certificates. 
When  the  interest  could  not  be  paid  in  money,  fresh 
certificates  were  granted.  Mr.  Morris  was  unalterably 
opposed  to  all  such  financial  methods,  and  he  had  no 
sooner  become  Superintendent  than  he  sought  to  dis 
place  these  officers.  The  loan  office  system,  he  declared, 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  141 

in  a  communication  to  the  President  of  Congress,  is  "an 
expensive  and  a  pernicious  establishment,  without  being 
attended  with  a  single  good  effect  to  compensate  the 
mischief."  He  early  wrote  the  various  loan  officers, 
formally  notifying  them  of  his  plans  for  the  reorganiza 
tion  of  the  Treasury  Department,  which  would  make 
their  further  services  unnecessary  to  the  Union,  and 
requested  each  one  to  settle  his  accounts  with  the  gov 
ernment,  and  transmit  an  accurate  list  of  all  the  cer 
tificates  he  had  issued  with  the  dates,  sums,  terms  of 
payment,  and  other  information  essential  to  the  prepara 
tion  of  a  correct  statement  of  the  public  debt.  The 
commissioners  of  the  loan  offices  had  many  friends.  It 
was  argued  that  they  still  ought  to  be  utilized  in  such 
new  system  as  Mr.  Morris  might  introduce,  and  although 
the  Financier  had  shorn  them  of  all  their  powers,  they 
continued  to  keep  up  a  show  of  existence  in  1784, 
therefore  to  the  end  of  his  official  term. 

The  Superintendent  of  Finance  desired  to  appoint  a 
receiver  of  Continental  taxes  for  each  state,  and  there 
was  a  loan  officer  in  each  state  eager  for  fresh  occupa 
tion.  But  Mr.  Morris  had  set  his  heart  upon  efficient 
agents  of  his  own.  In  changing  from  the  system  of 
specific  supplies  to  the  contract  system,  based  on  cash 
requisitions,  he  considered  it  to  be  essential  that  the 
Union  place  representatives  in  the  states,  who,  while 
they  could  not  collect  the  taxes  directly  from  the  peo 
ple,  might  receive  the  money  from  state  collectors  and 
forward  it  to  the  Continental  Treasury.  Congress,  by 


142  ROBERT  MORRIS 

Act  of  November  2,  1781,  resolved  that  the  taxes  in 
each  state  should  be  turned  over  to  the  commissioner 
of  the  loan  office  for  that  state,  or  such  other  person  as 
the  Superintendent  of  Finance  might  appoint,  and  with 
this  charter  of  authority  he  delegated  the  duty  to  Con 
tinental  receivers. 

He  selected  these  officers  very  carefully.  They  were 
men  of  whom  he  had  personal  knowledge,  or  else  came 
very  well  recommended  to  him  by  state  leaders  in  whose 
judgment  he  had  full  confidence.  He  went  himself  on 
horseback  to  Delaware  to  seek  a  receiver  for  that  state. 
To  distant  states  he  forwarded  blank  commissions  to 
trusted  political  friends,  in  order  that  there  might  be  no 
unnecessary  delay,  asking  them  to  choose  a  suitable  man 
for  the  position.  For  their  remuneration  the  receivers 
were  to  keep  a  share  of  all  they  collected,  one-eighth 
of  one  per  cent,  when  suitable  men  could  be  had  on  these 
terms,  rising  to  one-fourth  and  even  one-half  of  one  per 
cent  in  the  smaller  states  whose  total  cash  quotas  were 
not  large.  Always  a  shrewd  business  man  in  public 
management,  as  well  as  in  the  conduct  of  his  private 
affairs,  he  did  not  fail  to  point  out  to  each  receiver  what 
sum  was  required  of  the  state,  and  what  the  commission 
on  the  total  amount  would  be  when  it  had  been  collected 
and  forwarded  to  the  Treasury. 

Because  of  the  impossibility  of  making  anything  like 
the  full  collections,  Mr.  Morris  had  the  greatest  difficulty 
in  keeping  his  receivers,  as  the  paltry  rewards  were  not 
sufficient  to  induce  any  but  the  patriotic  to  hold  an 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  143 

office  which  was  so  unremunerative  and  at  the  same 
time  so  unpopular.  When  receivers  resigned,  he  sought 
new  ones ;  but  their  duties  were  so  unpleasant,  especially 
after  the  Financier  began  to  draw  on  them  in  anticipa 
tion  of  their  collections,  that  to  hold  the  position  was 
a  remarkable  test  of  fealty  to  the  American  cause.  Al 
most  the  only  solace  which  these  officers  had  came 
from  the  Superintendent's  grateful  letters  when  they 
sent  him  money,  his  friendly  and  encouraging  advice 
to  continue  their  exertions  when  they  failed  to  make 
a  weekly  return,  and  a  knowledge  that  if  they  were 
targets  for  public  abuse  as  tax-gatherers,  their  chief 
suffered  with  them. 

To  those  who  defended  the  loan  officers  and  argued 
that  they  should  also  be  the  tax  officers,  Mr.  Morris 
offered  three  weighty  objections.  He  urged  in  the  first 
place  that  they  had  not  settled  their  accounts  with  the 
Union  already  long  depending;  secondly,  that  many  of 
them  were  unfit  persons  for  their  tasks ;  and  thirdly,  that 
if  money  provided  by  the  states  for  current  expenses 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  loan  commissioners, 
creditors,  to  whom  interest  was  due  on  the  certificates 
issued  by  these  officers,  would  have  taken  it  all,  leaving 
nothing  for  more  important  purposes.  Through  his  re 
ceivers  Mr.  Morris  was  enabled  to  maintain  a  watchful 
guard  of  the  Union's  financial  interests  within  the 
states,  and  he  aimed  to  appoint  only  men  who  could 
exert  an  influence  in  the  legislatures  to  reform  and  im 
prove  the  tax  systems.  Colonel  Hamilton,  who  had 


144  ROBERT   MORRIS 

withdrawn  from  the  army  to  take  up  the  study  of 
law  in  New  York,  was  urged  to  become  the  Continental 
receiver  for  that  state.  Hamilton  demurred.  He  said 
that  with  him  time  was  precious,  as  he  planned  soon  to 
pass  the  bar  examinations.  Morris  pressed  him  to  look 
after  the  duties  of  the  office  in  intervals  between  his 
studies,  and  he  finally  acceded.  "It  is  not  in  the  spirit 
of  compliment,"  Hamilton  said,  "  but  of  sincerity,  I  assure 
you  that  the  opinion  entertained  of  him  who  presides  in 
the  Department  was  not  one  of  the  smallest  motives  to 
my  acceptance  of  the  office."  He  explained,  however, 
that,  in  so  far  as  he  could  see,  there  was  nothing  for  a 
Continental  receiver  to  do  in  New  York  State.  The 
business  of  making  collections  was  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  county  treasurers.  No  part  of  the  taxes  gathered 
was  legally  appropriated  to  Continental  purposes,  nor 
was  any  agent  within  the  state  definitely  authorized  to 
make  payments  to  a  Continental  officer.  These  facts 
were  not  new  to  Mr.  Morris.  "  The  mode  of  laying  and 
levying  taxes  is  vicious  in  the  extreme,"  he  said,  but  he 
thought  that  Hamilton  could  be  greatly  useful  in  bring 
ing  influence  to  bear  upon  the  legislature.  "  Your  situa 
tion  in  the  army,"  he  wrote  to  the  distinguished  young 
New  Yorker,  "  the  present  situation  of  that  very  army, 
your  connections  in  the  state,  your  perfect  knowledge 
of  men  and  measures,  and  the  abilities  which  Heaven 
has  blessed  you  with,  will  give  you  a  fine  opportunity 
to  forward  the  public  service  by  convincing  the  legisla 
ture  of  the  necessity  of  copious  supplies,  and  by  con- 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  145 

vincing  all  who  have  claims  on  the  justice  of  Congress 
that  those  claims  exist  only  by  that  hard  necessity  which 
arises  from  the  negligence  of  the  states." 

But  the  state  legislatures  were  not  to  be  influenced  so 
easily.  Each  had  its  own  system  of  taxation  which  it 
was  very  obstinately  attached  to.  Taxes  which  were 
laid  were  not  collected.  The  time  of  payment  was  ex 
tended,  and  taxes  were  actually  remitted  by  the  state 
legislators.  They  were  constantly  anxious  to  remain 
popular  with  the  people  who  clamored  under  the  oppres 
sive  burdens  of  the  war.  "  Many  who  see  the  right 
road  and  approve  it,"  Morris  observed  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  Franklin,  "continue  to  follow  the  wrong  road  be 
cause  it  leads  to  popularity.  The  love  of  popularity  is 
our  endemial  disease  and  can  only  be  checked  by  a 
change  of  seasons."  But  the  Superintendent  yielded  to 
no  discouragement.  He  actively  supported  his  receivers 
in  their  effort  to  wring  money  from  the  reluctant  states. 
He  declared  that  on  non-payment  of  taxes  his  agents 
ought  to  have  the  power  to  issue  executions  against  the 
persons  and  estates  of  state  officers  who  should  fail  to 
make  proper  returns  to  the  Continent,  and  finally  in 
structed  his  receivers  to  publish  the  paltry  receipts  in 
the  state  newspapers,  so  that  the  public  might  see  for 
themselves  how  shameful  was  their  financial  deficiency. 
The  people  of  the  various  states  could  then  form  some 
correct  measure  of  their  own  patriotism.  The  order 
was  openly  and  generally  resisted  by  the  governors,  who 
urged  that  it  would  give  information  to  the  enemy 


146  ROBERT   MORRIS 

which  he  should  not  possess,  but  Morris  observed  char 
acteristically  that  the  financial  condition  of  the  Union 
was  "a  matter  of  too  great  notoriety  to  be  con 
cealed."  "  Men  are  less  ashamed  to  do  wrong,"  he 
philosophized,  "  than  vexed  to  be  told  of  it ; "  and  he 
persuaded  himself  that  publicity  would  exert  a  salutary 
effect. 

As  his  term  wore  on  he  worked  himself  into  closer 
and  closer  quarters  with  the  legislatures.  Thomas  Tillot- 
son  followed  Hamilton  as  receiver  for  New  York,  where 
there  was  much  loud  murmuring  that  the  Continental 
quotas  were  too  burdensome.  "  The  members  of  the 
legislature  consume  by  their  wages  in  long  sessions  very 
considerable  sums,"  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  Tillotson,  "  and 
yet  growl  not  a  little  at  requisitions  for  necessary  ser 
vices.  I  wish,  Sir,  you  would  obtain  an  account  of  all 
the  monies  which  have  been  applied  in  this  way  since 
the  last  day  of  the  year  1780,  and  then  publish  under 
each  other  the  sums  paid  for  the  United  States  and 
those  for  support  of  their  assemblymen."  Following 
such  a  course  Mr.  Morris's  receivers  complained  that 
they  were  looked  upon  as  "licensed  spies."  He  told 
them  to  accept  the  appellation  if  the  people  chose  to 
confer  it  on  them.  As  for  himself  he  would  prefer  to 
call  the  officer  "  an  inspector  on  the  part  of  the  Union 
to  take  care  of  its  interests  in  the  states." 

No  love  of  popularity  could  cool  the  ardor  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Finance.  Virginia  still  bitterly  com 
plained  that  he  had  drained  the  state  of  specie  so  that 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  147 

the  people  could  not  pay  their  taxes.  He  gave  them  a 
Roland  for  their  Oliver.  "  The  complaint,"  he  said,  "  is 
not  founded  in  an  anxiety  either  to  pay  their  private 
debts  or  contribute  to  the  public  service,  but  arises  from 
the  want  of  means  to  purchase  foreign  superfluities  and 
administer  to  luxurious  indolence."  He  foresaw  their 
distress,  he  said,  and  added,  "  If  I  could  form  any  hope 
that  they  would  listen  to  their  real  friend,  I  would  lay 
a  plan  for  their  relief,  but  there  are  people  in  the  world 
whose  temper  and  conduct  are  such  that  it  is  impossible 
to  do  them  good." 

No  state  was  the  recipient  of  more  plain  remark  than 
Connecticut.  To  the  Governor  on  July  31,  1782,  Morris 
wrote :  — 

"  As  to  the  complaint  made  by  the  people  of  a  want  of 
money  to  pay  their  taxes,  it  is  nothing  new  to  me  nor 
indeed  to  anybody.  The  complaint  is,  I  believe,  quite  as 
old  as  taxation  and  will  last  as  long.  That  times  are 
hard,  that  money  is  scarce,  that  taxes  are  heavy  and  the 
like,  are  constant 'themes  of  declamation  in  all  countries, 
and  will  be  so.  But  the  very  generality  of  the  complaint 
shows  it  to  be  ill  founded.  The  fact  is  that  men  will 
always  find  use  for  all  the  money  they  can  get  hold  of 
and  more.  A  tax-gatherer,  therefore,  will  always  be  an 
unwelcome  guest,  because  his  demand  must  necessarily 
interfere  with  some  pleasurable  or  profitable  pursuit. 
Hundreds  who  cannot  find  money  to  pay  taxes  can  find 
it  to  purchase  useless  gewgaws  and  expend  much  more 
in  the  gratification  of  vanity,  luxury,  drunkenness,  and 


148  ROBERT   MORRIS 

debauchery,  than  is  necessary  to  establish  the  freedom  of 
their  country." 

To  his  Connecticut  receiver  the  Superintendent  wrote, 
in  1784,  "  Before  your  towns  cry  out  against  further 
taxation,  let  them  first  pay  what  they  ought  to  have  paid 
near  two  years  ago."  To  cover  their  own  negligence 
and  deficiency  they  adopted  the  favorite  device  of 
insinuating  that  Mr.  Morris  made  no  statement  of  the 
purposes  to  which  he  applied  the  public  monies.  "  They 
shall  not  wait  half  so  long  for  accounts  of  expenditures," 
he  answered  with  biting  satire,  "  as  they  have  obliged  me 
to  wait  for  money  which  I  was  obliged  to  expend  before 
I  received  it.  The  people  have  a  right  most  clearly  to 
accounts  of  the  appropriation  of  what  they  do  pay,  but 
those  who  clamor  on  the  present  occasion  stand  in  an 
awkward  position  when  they  ask  accounts  of  what  they 
do  not  pay." 

But  while  Mr.  Morris  in  his  relations  with  the  states 
through  the  receivers  could  be  very  severe,  his  supply  of 
patience  and  of  good  humor  was  in  general  unfailing. 
In  acknowledging  the  weekly  reports  of  his  "  spies  "  he 
never  wearied  of  uttering  a  wise  or  kindly  word.  "I 
only  wish  that  every  member  of  every  legislature  on  the 
Continent,"  he  said  to  one,  "  were  so  much  teased, 
harassed,  and  tormented  to  do  what  the  legislatures 
alone  can  do  as  I  am  to  do  what  I  alone  cannot  do." 

"I  hope  you  will  make  the  proper  representations," 
he  wrote  to  the  receiver  for  Massachusetts,  "  and  assure 
them  that  unless  the  most  solid  reliance  can  be  placed 


"PREACHING   TO   THE   DEAD"  149 

on  the  supplies,  it  is  not  only  impossible  to  conduct  the 
public  business  with  economy,  but  that  it  will  soon 
become  impossible  to  conduct  it  at  all."  "I  blush  at  the 
shameful  deficiency  of  the  states,"  he  wrote  again. 
Another  was  told  that  his  return  was  "shamefully 
little,"  while  to  an  officer,  who  had  been  more  successful 
with  his  collections,  the  Superintendent  wrote :  "  I  am 
in  hopes  that  the  stream  of  revenue  will  now  flow 
plentifully.  God  knows  we  stand  sufficiently  in  need 
of  it." 

He  deplored  the  fact  in  one  of  his  numerous  letters  to 
Massachusetts  that  "  such  pitiful  collections  are  made  in 
one  of  the  first  states  of  the  Union,"  exclaiming,  in  some 
passion,  as  he  thought  of  the  soldiers  soon  to  be  dis 
charged  and  sent  home,  "  For  Heaven's  sake  urge  the 
speedy  payment  of  considerable  sums,  that  we  may  do 
something  toward  the  relief  of  those  brave  fellows  who 
will  be  obliged  to  beg  or  do  worse  if  they  are  to  be  so 
shamefully  deprived  of  their  due." 

Again  appealing  to  state  pride,  he  addressed  a  receiver 
in  his  semi-humorous  way  as  follows :  "  I  hope  you  will 
not  cease  your  importunities  until  such  payments  be 
obtained  as  shall  comport  both  with  the  dignity  of  the 
state  and  the  wants  of  the  Union." 

To  another  tax  agent  his  words  were,  "I  cannot  but 
lament  the  deficiency  of  receipts  which  has  long  been 
an  unpleasing  characteristic  of  your  state." 

Acknowledging  an  envelope  which  was  empty  except 
for  apologies  and  promises,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  that 


150  ROBERT   MORRIS 

"although  they  contain  no  receipts  yet  they  wore  a 
good  aspect  of  hope  which  is  a  diet  we  have  long 
lived  on." 

"  Taxes  do,  indeed,  come  slowly  in,"  he  mused  another 
time,  "  and  my  situation  requires  more  ample  collections, 
but  I  must  bear  my  grief  as  I  may  and  wait  for  better 
times." 


CHAPTER  V 

BORROWING  AND  RETURNING 

IF  the  states  contributed  nothing  or  almost  nothing  for 
the  support  of  the  Union  in  the  closing  years  of  the  war, 
from  what  source  were  the  means  derived  to  maintain 
the  pretence  of  government  and  subsist  the  troops  ?  This 
money  came  through  foreign  loans,  the  advances  made 
by  the  Bank  of  North  America,  the  Treasury  notes  issued 
in  anticipation  of  the  collection  of  taxes  and  drafts  on 
foreign  ambassadors,  bankers,  and  the  state  receivers. 
Morris  had  sound  ideas  on  financial  questions,  and  any 
irregularities  in  his  conduct  were  not  induced  by  lack 
of  knowledge.  In  an  understanding  of  the  intricate  prob 
lems  of  the  currency,  he  was  outranked  by  no  man  in 
the  colonies,  unless  it  be  Alexander  Hamilton.  J 

On  January  7,  1782,  Congress  had  directed  him  to 
prepare  and  report  a  table  of  rates  at  which  the  different 
species  of  foreign  coins  should  circulate  in  the  United 
States.  On  January  15  he  presented  his  famous  report 
on  the  currency,  in  which  he  not  only  discussed  the  whole 
question  of  standards,  coinage,  seigniorage,  and  the  cir 
culation  of  money,  but  also  set  forth  his  plans  for  the 
establishment  of  a  mint.  "  The  ideas  annexed  to  a  pound, 
a  shilling,  and  a  penny,"  he  observed,  "are  almost  as 

151 


152  ROBERT   MORRIS 

various  as  the  states  themselves."  It  was,  at  the  time,  as 
necessary  to  make  calculations  in  inland  commerce  as  on 
foreign  exchanges.  "  The  commonest  things,"  Morris 
said,  "  become  intricate  where  money  has  anything  to  do 
with  them."  In  weights  and  measures  there  was  no  room 
for  the  misunderstanding  that  arose  whenever  values  were 
mentioned.  "  A  farmer  in  New  Hampshire,  for  instance, 
can  readily  form  an  idea  of  a  bushel  of  wheat  in  South 
Carolina  weighing  sixty  pounds  and  placed  at  one  hun 
dred  miles  from  Charleston ;  but  if  he  were  told  that  in 
such  situation  it  is  worth  twenty-one  shillings  and  eight 
pence,  he  would  be  obliged  to  make  many  inquiries  and 
form  some  calculations  before  he  could  know  that  this 
sum  meant  in  general  what  he  would  call  four  shillings ; 
and  even  then  he  would  have  to  inquire  what  kind  of 
coin  that  four  shillings  was  paid  in  before  he  could  esti 
mate  it  in  his  own  mind  according  to  the  ideas  of  money 
which  he  had  imbibed." 

The  coins  in  circulation  were  all  of  foreign  manufac 
ture.  While  there  was  much  English  and  French  money, 
Spanish  dollars  were  perhaps  the  most  familiar  standard. 
These  passed  in  Georgia  at  five  shillings,  in  North  Caro 
lina  and  New  York  at  eight  shillings,  in  Virginia  and 
the  four  eastern  states  at  six  shillings,  in  South  Caro 
lina  at  thirty-two  shillings  six  pence,  and  in  all  the 
other  states  at  seven  shillings  six  pence.  It  was  Mr. 
Morris's  hope  to  create  a  condition  of  affairs  under  which 
the  same  names  would  mean  the  same  things  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States.  \  He  desired  to  establish  a  legal  tender 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       153 

of  definite  and  assured  value  which  would  be  secure 
from  debasement,  sweating,  clipping,  and  counterfeiting. 
"  There  was,  at  the  time,  no  safety  against  foreign  trick 
ery,"  said  Morris.  "If,  for  instance,  the  King  of  Eng 
land,  or  any  of  his  Birmingham  artists  should  coin 
guineas  worth  but  sixteen  shillings  sterling,  our  citizens," 
he  observed,  "would  readily  and  freely  receive  them  at 
twenty-one  shillings  sterling." 

While  he  was  not  uninformed  as  to  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  bimetallism,  he  wished  the  United  States  to  have 
but  a  single  standard.  "  Since  the  money  standard  affixed 
to  both  the  precious  metals  will  not  give  a  certain  scale," 
he  said,  "it  is  better  to  make  use  of  one  only."  Gold 
was  too  scarce  and  too  valuable  for  use  as  a  circulating 
medium.  He  urged,  therefore,  that  Congress  should  make 
all  values  estimable  in  silver,  although  he  clearly  foresaw 
that  it  would  be  liable  to  fluctuations  as  the  supply  of 
it  increased  or  diminished.  Mr.  Morris  had  already 
brought  to  Philadelphia  from  Boston  a  considerable  quan 
tity  of  "public  copper,"  and  its  coinage  awaited  the 
pleasure  of  Congress.  "The  necessary  machinery  of  a 
mint  can  be  easily  made,"  he  said,  "  and  there  are  persons 
who  can  perform  the  whole  business.  If  Congress  are 
of  opinion  with  me  that  it  will  be  proper  to  coin  money, 
I  will  immediately  obey  their  orders  and  establish  a  mint. 
And  I  think  I  can  say  with  safety  that  no  better  moment 
could  be  chosen  for  the  purpose  than  the  present ;  neither 
will  anything  have  a  greater  tendency  to  restore  public 
credit;  for  although  it  is  possible  that  the  new  money 


154  ROBERT  MORRIS 

will  at  first  be  received  with  diffidence  by  some,  yet  when 
it  has  been  fairly  assayed,  it  will  gain  full  confidence 
from  all,  and  the  advantage  of  holding  the  only  money 
which  can  pay  debts  or  discharge  taxes,  will  soon  give 
it  the  preference  over  all  and  indeed  banish  all  other 
from  circulation." 

The  Financier,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  anticipated  Con 
gress,  as  he  was  wont  to  do,  by  bringing  on  Benjamin  Dud 
ley,  of  Boston,  to  execute  his  plans  for  the  establishment 
of  the  first  United  States  Mint.  This  was  in  September, 
1781,  and  if  Dudley  had  not  already  started,  he  was  re 
quested  to  join  Francis's  treasure  train,  which  carried 
the  French  money  overland  to  Philadelphia.  The  ex 
pert  was  urged  to  come  at  once.  "As  the  business  on 
which  I  want  to  confer  with  you  is  important,  and  will 
not  admit  of  delay,  I  hope  to  see  you  speedily."  On 
February  16,  1782,  Morris  was  in  conference  with  a  com 
mittee  of  Congress  in  the  State  House  on  the  subject  of 
a  mint.  The  members  voted  in  favor  of  its  establishment 
unanimously,  and  a  few  days  later,  February  21,  Congress 
itself  approved  of  the  project.  Dudley  was  set  to  work 
immediately.  He  visited  the  Office  of  Finance  frequently 
to  lay  his  plans  before  Mr.  Morris.  Once  he  reported  that 
"  a  Mr.  Wheeler,  a  smith  in  the  country,"  could  make  the 
screws  and  rollers,  wherefore  the  man  was  employed  for 
the  service.  Two  buildings  were  suggested  in  which  to  in 
stall  the  machinery — the  Dutch  Church  then  unoccupied, 
and  the  Masons'  Lodge.  Wheeler  brought  models  of  his 
rollers,  and  Dudley  was  directed  to  consult  with  Francis 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  155 

Hopkinson  and  David  Rittenhouse  regarding  the  construc 
tion  of  the  machines.  The  project,  however,  moved  for 
ward  very  slowly.  In  July,  1782,  Morris  writes  in  his 
Diary  that  Dudley  was  "  very  uneasy  for  want  of  employ 
ment,"  for  which  reason  he  was  sent  to  assist  a  Mr.  Byers 
in  establishing  a  brass  cannon  foundry  at  Springfield.  It 
was  not  until  April  2,  1783,  that  the  Superintendent  of 
Finance  received  the  first  piece  of  silver  coin  made  from 
the  American  presses  ;  and  a  little  later,  on  April  23,  speci 
mens  were  forwarded  to  Congress  with  a  request  that  a 
committee  might  be  appointed  for  further  conferences  on 
the  subject.  Nothing  came  of  all  these  preparations. 
Morris  was  without  money  to  pay  for  the  experiments. 
On  August  19, 1783,  he  sent  for  Dudley,  who  was  informed 
"  of  my  doubts  about  the  establishment  of  a  mint,"  since 
Congress  and  the  states  were  so  sparing  of  their  coopera 
tion,  and  after  many  visits  the  man's  accounts  were  finally 
settled  in  1784,  thus  closing  a  not  very  brilliant  chapter  in 
American  financial  history// 

The  war  would  not  wait  for  a  coinage  system  or  a  mint, 
and  none  knew  this  better  than  the  Superintendent  of  the 
United  States'  finances.  In  lieu  of  other  currency  he  sup 
plemented  the  notes  of  the  Bank  of  North  America  with 
his  own  notes,  which  soon  came  to  be  generally  known  as 
"  Long  Bobs  "  and  "  Short  Bobs,"  according  as  they  had  a 
longer  or  shorter  time  to  run.  These  were  issued  in  an 
ticipation  of  future  collections  of  taxes  in  the  states,  and 
were  drawn  to  the  order  of  his  "  cashier "  and  partner, 
John  Swanwick. 


156  ROBERT   MORRIS 

They  were  struck  on  a  copper  plate,  numbered,  lettered, 
and  signed  in  Morris's  own  handwriting  for  $20,  $50,  $80, 
and  even  larger  sums.  That  counterfeiting  might  be  pre 
vented,  the  Financier  deputed  an  agent  to  go  to  the  paper- 
mill  with  the  mould  and  scrutinize  the  entire  process  of 
manufacture.  This  agent  must  closely  watch  the  work 
men,  count  every  sheet  of  paper,  and  take  the  mould  with 
him  whenever  he  left  the  mill,  finally  fetching  it  and  the 
sheets  back  to  Philadelphia.  All  precautions,  however, 
did  not  avail  against  the  counterfeiters.  "  The  whole 
Continent  seems  to  combine  against  the  federal  govern 
ment,"  writes  Mr.  Morris.  "  For,  while  the  several  states 
leave  us  in  extreme  indigence,  the  profligate  are  busy  in 
undermining  those  anticipations  which  form  our  only 
support."  He  succeeded  finally  in  locking  up  "  the  knot 
of  villains "  who  were  imitating  his  notes,  but  it  was 
necessary  to  be  alert  very  constantly  to  prevent  their 
being  sold  at  a  discount.  /  Through  his  receivers  he 
covered  the  whole  Union  pretty  thoroughly,  and  they 
had  orders  to  redeem  both  Bank  of  North  America 
notes  and  Swanwick  notes  in  coin  whenever  they  were 
presented  for  redemption.  When  a  receiver  complained 
in  November,  1783,  that  -no  notes  could  be  found  for  a 
remittance  to  the  Treasury,  Morris  requested  him  to 
place  an  advertisement  in  the  newspapers :  "  Wanted 
by  George  Olney,  Receiver,  etc.,  notes  of  the  Superin 
tendent  of  Finance  or  bank-notes,  as  he  has  some  cash 
on  hand  to  be  exchanged."  The  notes,  when  redeemed 
and  forwarded  to  Mr.  Morris  by  the  receivers,  were  to 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       157 

be  cut  into  two  parts.  One-half  was  to  be  sent  by  one 
post,  and  the  other  half  by  the  next,  so  that  if  any  acci 
dent  should  occur,  the  Treasury  would  be  safeguarded 
against  confusion  and  loss. 

The  Virginians  still  attacked  Morris's  policies  and 
plans.  Many  of  his  notes  had  gone  to  the  South, 
where  his  agents  were  instructed  to  put  them  out  at 
par.  "  The  views  of  those  who  oppose  the  circulation 
of  the  notes  I  will  not  guess  at,"  said  the  Financier, 
"but  I  hope  they  may  be  virtuous  and  honorable  mo 
tives,  in  which  case  I  shall  only  pity  a  want  of  under 
standing  to  discover  the  true  interests  of  their  country. 
If  they  are  not  of  the  value  of  money,  the  quota  will  be 
more  cheaply  paid;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  be 
as  valuable  as  money,  what  objection  can  lie  against 
them?" 

All  these  notes  were  redeemed  by  Mr.  Morris  at 
their  face  value,  and  while  many  questioned  their 
worth,  his  good  faith,  and  his  ability  to  fulfil  his  prom 
ises,  they  in  general  circulated  at  par  in  all  parts  of 
the  Union.  Thus,  as  has  been  observed,  "  At  the  very 
epoch  in  which  the  credit  of  the  government  was  al 
most  entirely  annihilated,  and  its  bills  nearly  without 
value,  that  of  a  single  individual  was  stable  and  uni 
versal." 

In  treating  the  bank's  notes  as  his  own  notes  the 
Superintendent  of  Finance  gave  powerful  support  to 
that  establishment.  But  in  spite  of  all  he  had  done 
and  was  doing  to  forward  its  operations,  the  directors 


158  ROBERT   MORRIS 

must  often  urge  him  to  repay  their  loans.  The  bank's 
doors  had  been  less  than  six  months  open  when  Morris 
wrote  in  his  Diary  :  "  Mr.  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  bank,  came  to  inform  me  that  the 
bank  are  of  opinion  that  they  cannot,  with  propriety, 
discount  any  more  notes  for  me,  nor  make  me  any  fur 
ther  advances  until  some  of  the  former  engagements  are 
discharged.  In  this  determination  I  acquiesce,  because 
it  appears  right  and  consistent  with  that  prudence  and 
integrity  by  which  they  ought  to  be  governed." 

For  long  periods  his  office  was  without  the  means  to 
make  these  repayments.  Several  times  officers  and 
committees  from  the  bank  were  obliged  to  wait  upon 
him  and  press  him  for  money.  When  the  date  for  his 
retirement  approached,  the  directors  told  him  plainly  that 
they  had  relied  upon  his  pledges,  frequently  repeated,  to 
discharge  all  his  indebtedness  to  them  before  committing 
the  Treasury  to  other  hands.  They  had  made  their  loans 
to  him  and  not  to  the  United  States  government  whom  no 
man  trusted.  His  word  of  honor  and  his  solicitude  for 
the  safety  of  the  bank  were  powerful  motives  to  hold 
him  in  his  office  longer  than  he  intended  or  desired  to 
occupy  it. 

But  with  bank,  bank  discounts,  Swanwick  notes  and 
all,  Morris  and  his  country  would  have  fared  ill  indeed 
without  foreign  loans.  These  the  Superintendent  sought 
everywhere,  and  he  wrung  them  out  of  Jparis  and  Amster 
dam  at  the  sword's  point,  that  is  to  say,  by  unauthor 
ized  drafts.  Congress  had  almost  exhausted  the  gen- 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  159 

erosity  of  Europe  before  the  finances  had  passed  into 
Morris's  hands.  In  1779  and  1780  bills  had  been 
freely  drawn  on  the  American  Ministers  in  Europe,  — 
Franklin  at  Versailles,  Jay  at  Madrid,  and  Adams  at 
The  Hague.  It  was  a  method  of  securing  the  imme 
diate  use  of  money,  for  the  bills  could  be  sold  before 
they  had  gone  to  Europe  for  collection,  and  before 
there  was  assurance  indeed  that  funds  were  at  hand 
to  meet  them.  Nearly  all  the  bills  eventually  found 
their  way  to  Franklin  in  Paris,  who  went  to  the 
French  Ministry  so  often  with  his  appeals  in  order  that 
the  paper  might  not  be  protested  and  the  American 
credit  ruined,  that  he  was  finally  denied  further  audi 
ence.  France's  refusals  were  particularly  emphatic. 
The  United  States  had  received  3,000,000  livres  in 
1778,  1,000,000  in  1779,  4,000,000  in  1780,  10,000,000 
in  1781,  besides  6,000,000  in  the  same  year,  which  was 
a  gift  from  the  King  of  France  and  need  not  be 
repaid. 

Although  Morris,  on  assuming  office,  knew  that  little 
more  was  to  be  expected  at  Versailles,  he  did  not 
despair,  and  paid  his  addresses  through  the  Minister  to 
that  as  well  as  other  European  courts.  To  Franklin  he 
directed  an  eloquent  appeal.  "  An  argument  of  no  little 
weight,"  he  declared,  "is  that  which  applies  itself 
directly  to  the  bosom  of  a  young  and  generous  prince 
who  would  be  greatly  wounded  to  see  that  temple, 
dedicated  to  humanity,  which  he  has  taken  so  much 
pains  to  rear,  fall  at  once  into  ruins  by  a  remission  of 


160  ROBERT   MORRIS 

the  last  cares  which  are  necessary  for  giving  solidity  to 
the  structure."  He  had  little  hope  of  pecuniary  aid 
from  other  quarters.  "It  is  in  vain,"  he  wrote  to  Con 
gress  early  in  1782,  "that  expensive  establishments  are 
kept  up  to  solicit  succor  from  Spain  who  appears 
neither  able  nor  willing  to  afford  it;  from  Holland  who 
seeks  peace,  and  not  to  increase  the  causes  of  war ;  or 
from  Russia,  who  seems  more  inclined  to  crush  than  to 
support  us."  Early  in  his  term  he  had  addressed  a 
letter  to  John  Jay  at  Madrid,  urging  him  to  secure  a 
large  loan  from  the  King  of  Spain.  "Small  sums," 
he  observed,  "are  not  worth  our  acceptance,  and  I  may 
add  they  are  unworthy  the  dignity  of  his  Catholic 
Majesty."  Jay  was  charged  with  the  task  of  represent 
ing  to  the  Spanish  court  that  great  benefits  would 
accrue  to  it,  should  America  become  a  free  and  inde 
pendent  country.  He  suggested  that  when  once  rid  of 
the  British  redcoats,  we  might  assist  Spain  "in  the 
reduction  of  the  Floridas,  and  Bahamas,  and  perhaps  of 
Jamaica,"  and,  looking  still  farther  ahead,  added,  "  We 
shall  then  also  be  in  a  situation  to  secure  Nova  Scotia, 
thereby  depriving  Great  Britain  of  her  principal  resource 
for  ship  timber,  and  enable  us  to  furnish  that  essential 
article  to  the  navy  of  Spain  on  cheaper  and  better 
terms  than  it  can  be  had  elsewhere."  His  idea  of  what 
the  loan  should  be  was  characteristically  expressed. 
"The  sum  of  five  million  dollars,"  he  said,  "may  per 
haps  be  sufficient  for  our  present  emergencies ;  but  if  a 
greater  sum  can  be  obtained,  we  shall  thereby  become 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  161 

more    extensively  useful."     He    hoped,  too,    that  money 
might  be  secured  in  Portugal. 

While  no  aid  came  from  either  Spain  or  Portugal,  he 
was  made  glad  by  the  announcement  that  France  would 
give  6,000,000  more  to  be  drawn  at  the  rate  of  500,000 
livres  monthly.  The  King  made  it  plain  through  his 
Minister  Luzerne  in  Philadelphia  that  this  additional  sum 
was  granted  because  of  the  confidence  felt  in  Mr.  Morris's 
administration.  It  was  a  godsend  to  the  Superintendent 
of  Finance,  who  was  almost  without  resources  at  home. 
With  this  permit  he  began  his  sensational  operations  with 
foreign  bills,  selling  them  for  large  sums  through  different 
bankers  in  different  European  cities,  often  without  the 
slightest  knowledge  as  to  how  they  would  be  paid.  The 
King  and  Count  de  Vergennes  had  occasion  many  times  to 
doubt  whether  their  confidence  had  not  been  misplaced. 
In  1782  he  had  overdrawn  his  account  in  France  to  the 
extent  of  three  and  a  half  million  livres.  The  French 
Minister  in  Philadelphia  demanded  an  explanation  of 
Mr.  Morris  who  blandly  declared  that  he  had  miscalcu 
lated  the  amount  in  hand.  He  always  hoped  that  the 
money  would  be  forthcoming  from  America's  friends  in 
Europe  before  the  bills  were  presented  for  payment. 
They  were  sent  a  long  way  round,  often  through  Havana 
and  Cadiz,  in  order  to  get  advantage  of  the  exchange,  and 
to  gain  time,  which  was  absolutely  necessary  to  such 
a  Treasury  as  that  over  which  Mr.  Morris  presided.  In 
May,  1783,  he  wrote  to  M.  Grand,  the  banker  for  the 
United  States  in  Paris,  that  he  was  certain  "the  court 


162  ROBERT   MORRIS 

would  not  suffer  us  to  be  dishonored  for  a  small  sum." 
When  Thomas  Barclay  was  sent  out  as  a  Commissioner  to 
settle  the  Continent's  accounts  in  Europe,  Morris  with 
grave  humor  was  much  exercised  lest  some  of  the  bills 
had  been  paid  twice,  a  contingency  which  was  not  very 
likely  to  happen.  "  The  bills  drawn  by  order  of  Congress 
at  long  sight  on  their  ministers,  as  well  in  Spain  and 
Holland  as  in  France,"  he  writes,  "  have  involved  the 
affairs  of  my  department  in  a  labyrinth  of  confusion,  from 
which  I  cannot  extricate  them.  I  know  not  what  has 
been  done  respecting  them,  and  only  know  that  ever  since 
I  entered  into  office  they  have  not  only  plagued  and  per 
plexed  me,  but  they  have  invariably  consumed  the  re 
sources  on  which  I  had  formed  a  reliance." 

"  Those  accursed  bills  "  he  called  them.  "  The  protest 
of  any  public  bills,  particularly  any  which  I  should  draw," 
he  added,  "  would  reduce  our  affairs  here  to  infinite 
distress."  He  urged  Franklin,  Jay,  and  Adams,  although 
each  one  of  them  knew  to  a  certainty  that  more  bills  were 
circulating  than  they  could  pay  from  any  funds  at  their 
disposal,  to  look  after  the  accounts  of  the  United  States, 
"  lest,  on  the  one  hand,  I  should  risque  the  public  credit 
by  an  excess  of  drafts,  or  on  the  other  leave  their  monies 
unemployed  while  they  experience  severe  distress  from 
the  want."  "  Mr.  Morris  has  drawn  afresh  by  this  vessel," 
wrote  John  Adams  to  Jay  in  1784.  "  Let  me  beg  of  you 
and  the  Doctor  to  advise  him  to  stop  his  hand.  It  is  ruin 
ous  to  borrow  money  in  Europe  upon  such  terms,  but  it  will 
be  more  ruinous  to  let  the  bills  go  back.  My  situation 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  163 

is  very  disagreeable."  But  Mr.  Morris  was  quite  intract 
able.  To  the  European  bankers  he  sent  glowing  accounts 
of  the  wealth  and  resources  of  America.  "Let  it  be 
remembered,"  he  urged  on  one  occasion,  "  that  a  century 
ago  the  place  from  which  this  letter  is  written  was  an  un 
limited  forest ;  that  the  whole  state  of  Pennsylvania  did 
not  produce  enough  to  support  five  hundred  men  after  the 
European  manner,  and  that  every  other  part  of  America 
was  a  little  earlier  or  a  little  later  in  the  same  situation. 
But  now  this  very  city  is  worth  more  than  all  the  public 
and  private  debts  put  together  which  we  owe  to  Europe." 

A  loan  was  opened  in  Holland.  Efforts  to  secure  funds 
from  the  government  at  The  Hague  having  failed,  a  public 
loan  negotiated  through  Dutch  bankers  under  guarantee 
of  the  French  government  was  arranged.  This  enterprise 
was  at  first  very  disappointing.  Mr.  Morris  complains  that 
in  December,  1782,  the  subscriptions  did  not  amount  to 
1,000,000  florins.  The  costs  and  charges  greatly  reduced 
the  net  proceeds  of  the  operation.  He  feared  that  the 
loan  would  not  go  beyond  two  millions  out  of  the  five 
millions  for  which  it  was  opened.  It  was  on  this  fresh 
prospect  of  foreign  aid  that  the  Financier  had  made  his 
extensive  anticipations.  Whatever  its  shortcomings,  this 
loan,  which  is  largely  to  be  credited  to  the  diplomatic 
skill  of  John  Adams,  saved  Mr.  Morris's  administration 
from  a  great  deal  of  disgrace.  In  October,  1783,  the 
Superintendent  of  Finance  drew  three  bills  against  the 
Holland  loan  at  150  days'  sight,  each  for  250,000  guilders, 
in  favor  of  John  Ross,  Peter  Whitesides,  and  Isaac  Hazel- 


164  ROBERT   MORRIS 

hurst,  all  solid  business  houses  in  Philadelphia.  Selling 
the  bills  at  a  favorable  rate  of  exchange,  he  got  the  use 
of  about  $300,000  for  three  months  or  more  before  the 
money  would  need  to  be  paid  in  Amsterdam.  One  of 
these  bills,  Ross's,  caused  him  great  anxiety,  as  he  had 
learned,  on  information,  which  proved  unreliable,  that  Ross 
had  remitted  the  bill  and  was  drawing  on  the  credit  of  it. 
He  begged  the  bankers  in  France  not  to  dishonor  it.  "  If, 
gentlemen,"  he  pleaded,  "  you  have  a  sufficient  confidence 
in  me  or  in  my  country,  you  will  comply  with  my  request, 
provided  your  own  convenience  will  in  any  wise  permit.  If 
you  have  not  that  confidence,  I  must  lament  it  as  a  misfor 
tune."  If  they  should  grant  him  this  favor,  he  promised 
that  he  would  not  quit  office  until  the  sum  was  fully  repaid. 
As  it  happened  the  alarm  was  not  justified,  although 
the  crisis  was  not  long  delayed.  In  March,  1784,  Mr. 
Morris  wrote  to  the  President  of  Congress  that  bills  to 
the  amount  of  $530,000  on  Holland  had  been  protested 
for  non-acceptance.  This  was  the  most  desperate  period 
in  his  administration.  By  no  means  could  any  more 
money  be  extracted  from  France.  In  the  French  view 
the  war  had  ended,  and,  while  Franklin  had  faithfully 
cared  for  Morris's  drafts  and  over-drafts  as  long  as'  he 
could,  the  burden  now  fell  on  John  Adams  and  the 
bankers  of  Amsterdam.  "It  is  an  old  saying,"  mused 
Mr.  Morris  about  this  time,  "that  when  things  are  at 
the  worst,  they  must  mend.  I  will  not  pretend  to  say 
whether  they  are  now  at  the  worst,  but  I  am  sure  they 
are  bad  enough  in  all  conscience." 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  165 

In  anxiety  hourly  for  many  weeks,  word  finally  came 
to  Philadelphia  that  the  bills  had  been  saved  by  the 
payment  of  a  higher  rate  of  interest.  Terms  were  made 
which  Adams  declared  to  be  "enormously  avaricious," 
but  the  point  had  been  gained.  The  honor  of  the  coun 
try  and  its  Financier  were  safe,  and  there  yet  remained 
only  the  hard  words  which  such  methods  were  certain  to 
engender.  The  French  ministry  told  Franklin  and  Jay 
at  Paris  that  it  was  easy  to  be  a  financier  and  draw 
bills  when  others  provided  the  funds  to  pay  them.  An 
other  time  it  was  intimated  in  plain  terms  that  the  court 
was  not  treated  with  a  proper  degree  of  delicacy,  kings 
and  foreign  ministers  being  degraded  to  the  rank  of 
"cashiers."  "I  wish,"  Morris  wrote  to  Jay  when  the 
news  reached  him,  "that  the  ministers  in  France  were 
sensible  of  one  truth,  which  is,  that  my  administration 
either  saved  them  a  good  deal  of  money  or  a  great  deal 
of  disgrace;  for  if  I  had  not  undertaken  it  when  I  did, 
they  must  either  have  advanced  ten  times  the  amount 
I  received,  or  have  deserted  America  after  having  under 
taken  her  cause,  and  perhaps  have  been  obliged  to  sub 
scribe  to  very  indifferent  terms  of  peace  for  themselves." 

It  was  Willink  and  Co.,  the  Amsterdam  bankers,  how 
ever,  to  whom  Mr.  Morris  owed  and  offered  the  frankest 
explanations.  On  September  30,  1784,  near  the  close  of 
his  term,  he  wrote  to  that  firm  whose  offices  were  so 
freely  employed  in  the  negotiation  of  the  Holland  loan: 
"  I  agree  with  you  in  the  sentiment  that  there  is  danger 
in  drawing  before  we  know  that  the  funds  are  placed, 


166  ROBERT   MORRIS 

and  I  do  believe  that  the  protest  of  my  drafts  forced 
you  into  higher  terms  than  might  otherwise  have  been 
settled  with  the  undertakers.  But,  gentlemen,  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  for  a  government  to  find  itself  in  situa 
tions  where  nothing  is  left  but  a  choice  of  evils,  and 
where  the  smallest  of  these  evils  will  be  a  very  great 
one.  When  you  see  the  public  accounts  of  my  adminis 
tration,  you  will  see  that  if  bills  had  not  been  hazarded 
without  a  certainty  of  funds  to  answer  them,  we  could 
not  have  made  head  against  the  enemy,  much  less  could 
we  have  forced  him  into  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  (had 
we  been  in  the  very  best  circumstances)  could  not  have 
been  more  advantageous  to  us.  I  do  not,  however, 
approve  of  risques,  and  if  I  were  to  continue  longer  in 
administration,  I  would  pursue  a  conduct  directly  the 
reverse  of  that  which  I  have  hitherto  observed,  and, 
without  making  a  single  anticipation  either  at  home  or 
abroad,  wait  quietly  for  the  revenues,  and  in  the  mean 
time  the  service  might  suffer  for  want  of  the  expendi 
ture.  This  would  in  time  of  peace  produce  only  a  little 
murmuring  and  discontent,  the  consequences  of  which 
would  prove  beneficial.  But  when  a  country  is  at  war 
for  political  existence  and  the  life  and  fortune  of  every 
citizen  dependent  on  the  controversy,  the  stake  played 
for  is  too  great  to  mind  a  risque  which  may  involve  the 
loss  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  guilders,  when 
that  risque  is  necessary  to  save  the  game." 

Questionable,  but  necessary,  in  a  somewhat  similar  way, 
were  Mr.  Morris's   commercial   transactions.       When    he 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       167 

dealt  in  tobacco  and  rice,  and  bought  or  sold  horses, 
cattle,  or  ships,  he  invited  criticism.  It  was  inevitable 
even  when  the  business  turned  out  well  for  the  United 
States.  His  most  important  operations  were  in  tobacco 
which  came  chiefly  from  Virginia.  Many  cargoes  were 
sent  to  Europe  on  Continental  account  by  arrangement 
with  British  and  Dutch  traders.  At  times  the  Virgin 
ians  failed  to  supply  Morris  with  the  tobacco  which  he 
had  contracted  to  deliver.  Again  the  purchasers,  when 
it  reached  them  in  Europe,  declared  it  to  be  "rotten." 
He  procured  himself  infinite  trouble  in  a  desire  to 
manage  this  tobacco  business  with  advantage  to  the 
government. 

In  January,  1782,  when  George  Abbott  Hall  was  sent 
to  South  Carolina  to  act  as  receiver  of  Continental  taxes 
for  that  state,  he  was  at  the  same  time  commissioned 
to  serve  as  Morris's  commercial  agent.  Hall  left  Phila 
delphia  with  a  train  of  teams  loaded  with  supplies  for 
the  Southern  regiments,  and  a  warrant  for  $20,000  to 
purchase  indigo.  It  was,  Morris  tells  us  in  his  Diary, 
"to  be  sent  hither  by  the  return  wagons  that  would 
otherwise  come  back  empty,  whereas  I  expect  by  this 
plan  to  clear  on  the  indigo  as  much  money  for  the 
public  as  will  pay  for  the  hire  of  the  teams."  The 
indigo  was  to  be  purchased  at  a  half-dollar  a  pound 
and  as  much  cheaper  as  possible.  If  there  were  none 
to  be  had,  Hall  was  authorized  to  buy  skins  and  furs. 
No  money  was  to  be  expended  when  credit  could  be 
secured,  and  if  any  balance  remained,  small  advances 


168  ROBERT   MORRIS 

were  to  be  made  to  General  Greene.  But  Hall  found 
it  no  more  feasible  to  purchase  skins  and  furs  in  the 
South  than  indigo,  and  he  was  chiefly  occupied  as  a 
money  changer  —  buying  up  Morris's  notes  in  order  to 
keep  them  in  circulation  at  their  face  value.  In  1783 
the  Superintendent  of  Finance  authorized  him  to  receive 
rice  for  taxes  due  the  United  States.  It  must  be  of  as 
good  a  quality  as  possible,  and  be  shipped  on  favorable 
terms  of  freight  from  the  nearest  Carolina  port  to  the 
bankers  in  Amsterdam,  to  whom  tobacco  was  being  for 
warded  constantly  from  Virginia. 

Morris  not  only  exported;  he  also  engaged  in  an 
import  trade  on  public  account.  Soon  after  he  was 
appointed  Financier,  he  wrote  to  John  Jay  at  Madrid, 
asking  our  representative  at  the  court  of  Spain  to  arrange 
for  shipments  of  salt  to  this  country.  Vessels  were  to 
be  procured  either  by  purchase  or  charter.  If  they  were 
bought  outright,  it  was  specified  that  "  they  should  be 
fast  sailers  with  good  sails  and  rigging  well  found  and 
fitted,  and  if  armed,  so  much  the  better."  Furthermore, 
"honest,  active,  industrious,  and  faithful  masters  must 
be  provided  for  these  vessels,  and  they  must  all  come 
addressed  to  my  order  directed  for  this  port,  with  liberty 
however  to  get  into  any  safe  port  they  can."  All  the 
commercial  operations  which  Morris,  as  an  experienced 
trader  and  shipmaster,  planned  were  not  carried  through, 
and  it  was  fortunate  for  the  Financier  that  this  was  so, 
else  his  enemies  might  have  found  many  more  points  at 
which  to  attack  his  public  reputation. 


From  an  etching  made  for  Charles  Henry  Hart,  after  Trumbull's  portrait 
of  Mrs.  Morris. 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  169 

Morris's  interest   in    Cuba  persisted   until   the  end   of 
his  term.     The  unfortunate  voyage  of  the  Trumbull,  in 

1781,  which  was  laden  with  flour,  the  captain   carrying 
directions  to    the   United    States'   agent  in    Havana    to 
sell   bills  for  specie  and   return  with  it  to  Philadelphia, 
did  not  discourage  the  ever  sanguine  Financier.     In  May, 

1782,  the  Alliance,  under  Captain  Barry,  was  despatched 
to  Havana  with  the   design  of  importing  silver  to   the 
amount    of    one    hundred    thousand     Mexican    dollars, 
through  Robert  Smith,  who  still  represented  the  United 
States  at  that  port.     The  ship  had  but  just  returned  from 
France.     The  captain  carried   thirty,   sixty,   and  ninety 
day  bills,  drawn  upon  Grand  in  Paris,  through  Harrison 
and  Co.  of  Cadiz.     The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  in  Phila 
delphia  guaranteed  their  payment,  and   they  were  to  be 
sold  to  the  Governor  of  Havana  for   hard   money.     As 
with  the  Trumbull  so  with  the  Alliance,  Morris  planned 
every  detail  of  the  voyage.     If  the  American  ship  should 
fall  in  with  a  French  frigate,    the   sum  was   to   be   di 
vided   equally  between   them.     If    two   frigates  were  at 
hand  to  act  as  convoys,  each  ship  should  carry  one-third 
of   the  treasure,  thus    reducing   the   risk   of   capture    to 
the  lowest   possible  point.     The   Alliance,   however,  was 
barely  out  of  the  Delaware  River  when  the  British  gave 
her  chase.     She  was   pursued   down   the   bay  and  along 
the    coast,   finally   making   her   way   in   safety   to    New 
London. 

In  November,  1782,  Mr.  Morris  undertook  another  mis 
sion  to  Cuba,  an  adventure  for  which  he  came  in  for  the 


170  ROBERT   MORRIS 

severest  criticism  both  in  and  out  of  Congress.  For  this 
journey  he  selected  John  Brown  who  sailed  on  the  Due  de 
Lauzun.  She  was  convoyed  by  the  Alliance.  The  ex 
planations  of  this  transaction,  which  Morris's  enemies  com 
pelled  him  to  make,  revealed  business  methods  which 
were  sufficiently  complicated  to  occasion  remark  if  not 
actual  suspicion.  In  1782  the  venders  of  some  United 
States  bills  sold  them  on  credit.  The  notes  taken  from 
the  purchasers  were  carried  to  the  Bank  of  North  America 
which  discounted  them.  A  number  of  bills  had  been  sold 
to  a  Mr.  Raguet  who  could  not  pay  for  them,  when  the 
bank  pressed  him  for  a  settlement,  whereupon  he  offered 
a  ship,  the  Due  de  Lauzun,  then  on  the  stocks.  In  default 
of  other  payment  this  vessel  was  finally  taken.  Mr.  Fitz- 
simmons,  in  behalf  of  the  bank,  fitted  her  out  as  a  mer 
chant  ship.  She  was  sent  off  to  Havana  with  salted 
provisions  which  had  been  laid  up  by  General  Washington, 
and  at  the  time  of  no  use  to  the  United  States,  the  cargo 
being  filled  out  with  flour  specially  purchased  for  the  pur 
pose.  John  Brown  accompanied  the  vessel  with  $200,000 
in  bills  drawn  upon  Cadiz,  which  were  to  be  sold  together 
with  the  flour  and  provisions  to  the  Governor  of  Cuba  for 
cash.  This  mission  failed  as  had  the  earlier  Cuban  ven 
tures.  The  governor  would  not  furnish  specie  to  the 
United  States,  and  the  Due  de  Lauzun  remained  as  an 
asset  on  Mr.  Morris's  books.  She  was  afterward  offered 
to  the  King  of  France  for  70,000  livres,  which  he  consid 
ered  an  extravagant  price,  and  remained  as  a  bad  bargain 
to  be  disposed  of  finally  by  Barclay,  while  he  was  in 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  171 

Europe  adjusting  the  accounts  of  the  United  States  for 
42,675  livres. 

/As  Morris  had  remarked  to  General  Schuyler  upon  the 
assumption  of  his  duties  as  the  Continental  Financier,  he 
had  come  into  his  office  with  "  an  empty  treasury  and  a 
totally  exhausted  jcredit/"  He  might  have  included  in 
his  inheritance  a  mob  of  persistent  creditors,  who  called 
to  see  him  not  once  but  many  times,  and  to  all  of  whom 
he  generously  gave  audience.  While  he  labored  at  his 
desk  from  early  morn  until  late  into  the  night,  and  was 
busy  with  them  much  of  the  time  that  he  set  apart  for  the 
public  service,  they  attacked  him,  too,  upon  the  street  in 
going  to  and  coming  from  his  meals.  "It  seems,"  he 
once  complained  early  in  his  experience  with  the  office, 
"  as  if  every  person  connected  in  the  public  service  enter 
tains  an  opinion  that  I  am  full  of  money ;  for  they  are 
constantly  applying,  even  down  to  the  common  express 
riders,  and  give  me  infinite  interruption,  so  that  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  attend  to  business  of  more  consequence." 
His  bearing  in  reference  to  these  creditors,  to  most  of 
whom  money  was  justly  due  for  salaries  or  services,  was 
characteristic.  His  desk  was  located  in  a  room  on  the 
second  floor,  but  nearly  all  the  applicants  asked,  and 
indeed  demanded,  that  they  be  shown  up  the  stairway. 
He  gave  patient  hearing  to  their  various  pleas  for  several 
months.  At  last,  on  New  Year's  Day,  1782,  he  decided 
that  he  must  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  "  I  have  found  per 
sonal  applications  from  a  variety  of  individuals  for  money 
so  extremely  troublesome,  inconvenient,  and  improper," 


172  ROBERT   MORRIS 

he  writes  in  his  Diary,  "  that  I  have  this  day  desired  the 
clerks  in  the  office  below  to  inform  every  person  that 
shall  want  to  apply  to  me  for  money  to  do  it  in  writing, 
stating  fully  their  respective  claims,  so  as  to  enable  me  to 
judge  thereon,  and  assure  them  that  every  such  claim 
shall  be  answered.  The  greatest  part  of  my  time  since 
in  office  has  been  consumed  in  hearing  the  tales  of  woe, 
which  many  of  the  public  creditors  relate,  and  which  I 
cannot  prevent  in  any  other  way  than  by  declining  per 
sonal  interviews,  and  substituting  this  mode  of  hearing 
them  in  writing."  The  plan,  however,  did  not  prove  to 
be  popular  with  the  creditors,  for  many  were  "in  great 
wrath  at  being  refused  admittance,"  and  the  Superintend 
ent  was  soon  harassed  as  before  by  men  with  all  kinds  of 
grievances,  which  they  were  anxious  to  air  in  his  presence. 
His  patient  hearing  of  their  wants  and  misfortunes 
continued  until  the  following  June,  when  he  made  a 
second  attempt  to  introduce  a  reform.  Then  he  writes : 
"  Finding  that  the  daily  interruptions  which  I  met  with 
by  persons  making  applications  on  various  matters  that 
chiefly  relate  to  themselves,  prevents  my  getting  through 
the  business  of  this  office  in  the  satisfactory  manner  I 
could  wish,  I  have  now  determined  to  set  apart  three 
days  in  the  week,  when  I  will  receive  from  the  hours  of 
ten  to  twelve  all  applications  that  are  personally  made. 
These  days  are  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday,  in  each 
succeeding  week,  a  regulation  that  will  not  only  save  my 
time,  but  also  that  of  the  persons  applying,  as  those  hours 
will  be  entirely  devoted  to  them."  This  plan,  too,  was 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       173 

destined  to  fail.  Again  Mr.  Morris  deceived  himself. 
No  device  could  stay  the  persistent  creditors  of  Congress, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  worry  on  with  his  troublesome 
visitors  until  the  end  of  his  term. 

The  methods  which  he  adopted  to  save  the  public 
money,  and  prevent  such  small  amounts  as  came  into  the 
Treasury,  from  being  frittered  away  in  the  payment  of 
old  claims  were  numerous  and  ingenious.  If  this  may 
have  seemed  a  very  disagreeable  task,  and  one  not  equal 
to  Mr.  Morris's  talents,  it  was  by  no  means  the  most 
unimportant  of  his  achievements  as  Financier.  It  was 
an  initial  duty  by  some  means  or  other  to  stop  up  these 
small  leaks  in  the  Treasury,  and  to  hold  back  the  funds 
for  larger  needs  that  were  constantly  arising,  and  must  be 
promptly  satisfied  if  the  soldiers  were  to  continue  in  the 
field  to  prosecute  the  war. 

While  the  demands  upon  him  for  money  were  at 
times  a  real  aggravation,  they  often  served,  too,  to 
amuse  the  Financier.  At  any  rate,  he  made  light  of 
his  troubles,  and  many  curt  entries  in  his  Diary  flow 
from  his  abundant  store  of  humor:  — 

"To-day  I  had  various  fruitless  applications  made  me 
for  money." 

"  Many  applications  for  money,  and  none  to  give  them." 

"This  morning  begins  as  usual  with  applications  for 
money." 

"  The  usual  applications  for  money  this  morning, 
which  I  shall  use  my  utmost  endeavors  to  procure, 
there  being  very  little  on  hand  this  morning." 


174  ROBERT   MORRIS 

"  To  my  great  surprise  there  was  no  application  for 
money  this  day." 

"After  preaching  up  frugality,  I  granted  a  warrant 
for  12000." 

"Sundry  teasing  applications  for  money  which  I  was 
obliged  to  decline." 

"I  put  them  off  as  I  have  done  several  others." 

"  Captain  Wm.  Hardy  preferred  sundry  matters  cal 
culated  for  his  own  benefit  which  I  was  obliged  to  pass 
by,  being  out  of  that  line  of  propriety  I  choose  to 
move  in." 

"I  told  him  he  must  rub  through  another  month." 

"  Colonel  Pickering  for  money  which  he  cannot  have." 

"  Many  applications  for  money  notwithstanding  my 
extreme  poverty." 

"  Having  been  so  much  deceived  myself,  I  will  not 
deceive  others  with  expectations." 

"  I  insisted  that  he  shall  not  come  here  to  take  up 
any  more  of  my  time  so  improperly." 

"Exceedingly  teased  this  day  with  a  variety  of  fruit 
less  applications." 

"  Sundry  persons  called  upon  matters  of  little  moment 
except  to  themselves." 

"I  ordered  him  to  be  paid  not  being  able  to  resist 
his  necessity." 

"  Captain  L'Enfant  called  and  tried  hard  to  persuade 
me  out  of  some  money,  but  I  refused  peremptorily." 

"  Captain  Castain  pressed  most  exceedingly  for  money, 
but  I  was  obliged  to  resist  his  importunities." 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       175 

In  January,  1784,  he  wrote  to  two  majors,  one  cap 
tain,  and  one  lieutenant,  who  had  sent  him  an  impu 
dent  round-robin  :  — 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  received,  this  morning,  your 
application.  I  make  the  earliest  answer  to  it.  You 
demand  instant  payment.  I  have  no  money  to  pay  you 
with.  Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"  ROBERT  MORRIS." 

At  other  times  the  monotony  of  the  situation  was  so 
great,  that  even  Mr.  Morris's  happy  disposition  would 
not  allow  him  to  see  the  bright  side  of  the  picture. 
"I  could  not  see  him,"  he  writes  of  one  caller,  "being 
hunted  and  fatigued  to  death." 

At  another  moment  when  his  great  store  of  patience 
was  used  up,  he  writes,  "  I  begged  they  would  exert 
themselves  to  support,  instead  of  plaguing  and  distress 
ing  me  with  importunity." 

His  annoyance  at  times  was  greatly  increased  on 
account  of  his  large  sympathies,  and  again  and  again 
did  he  lament  the  fact  that  he  was  unable  to  aid  those 
who  came  to  him  in  numbers,  and  seemed  from  their  own 
stories  to  stand  in  such  dire  need  of  assistance.  There 
is  a  note  of  sadness  and  regret  in  these  words :  "  This 
day  I  have  received  a  number  of  distressing,  disagree 
able  letters  from  all  quarters.  Money  wanted  for  the 
public  service  everywhere,  and  none  ready  or  providing 
anywhere." 

Again     Mr.    Morris    writes    of    an    applicant,    whose 


176  ROBERT   MORRIS 

appeal  he  was  obliged  to  deny,  "It  hurt  my  feelings 
much  not  to  be  able  to  relieve  him." 

In  another  case  he  broke  the  news  with  sorrow  in  his 
heart. 

Major  Smith  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  also  worked 
upon  the  Financier's  sympathies.  "This  poor  gentle 
man,"  he  says,  "  I  pity  very  much,"  but  no  help  was 
secured,  for  Mr.  Morris  advised  him  in  an  unyielding,  busi 
nesslike  way,  "not  to  spend  his  time  and  attention  in 
seeking  relief  where  it  was  not  to  be  had." 

After  some  pressing  entreaties  on  another  occasion  he 
writes,  "  I  lamented  much  his  situation  but  cannot  help 
him  without  opening  a  door  that  would  soon  ruin  our  poor 
Treasury" 

It  was  General  St.  Clair  who  melted  the  Financier's 
great  heart.  "This  gentleman's  distress,"  Morris  wrote, 
"  is  beyond  description.  Not  a  dollar  in  his  possession  at 
a  time  when  duty  calls  him  to  camp  and  a  starving  family 
to  remain  behind  him.  I  must  therefore  supply  him  some 
way  or  other,  but  it  is  exceedingly  hard  to  advance  per 
petually  my  own  money  to  those  whom  the  public  distress 
by  non-payment."  St.  Clair  called  at  the  office  more  than 
once,  and  at  last  Mr.  Morris  gave  him  $320  from  his  pri 
vate  purse,  to  be  taken  at  some  future  time  from  the  gen 
eral's  pay,  if  the  government  should  ever  develop  an 
ability  to  reward  its  faithful  servants.  To  a  later  appeal 
by  General  St.  Clair  for  further  payments  Mr.  Morris 
wrote,  "A  claim  like  yours,  founded  on  justice  and  en 
forced  by  other  motives  of  the  most  pressing  kind,  ought 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       177 

to  be  complied  with,  and  when  by  a  total  inability  I  am 
obliged  to  refuse  it,  your  sensations  cannot  be  more  dis 
agreeable  than  mine." 

At  other  times  our  Revolutionary  Financier  exhibited 
still  other  moods.  He  made  excuses.  He  almost  uni 
formly  told  those  who  applied  for  payments  on  account, 
that  it  was  his  rule  to  make  no  partial  payments.  It  was 
a  policy  of  which  he  could  not  approve.  If  it  were  a  just 
claim,  he  would  pay  all  or  nothing.  But  as  he  had  not 
the  resources  to  enable  him  to  liquidate  the  whole  debt  he 
must  decline  making  any  present  settlement.  It  is  true 
that  the  troops  on  their  way  to  Yorktown  received  a  pay 
ment  on  account,  but  this  step  was  taken  only  at  the 
pressing  instance  of  General  Washington.  While  many 
creditors  were  sent  away  on  this  plea,  in  other  cases  Mr. 
Morris  was  obliged  to  break  his  rule.  When  no  other 
method  offered,  he  must  satisfy  just  demands  in  cash, 
although  he  first  tried  and  often  succeeded  in  settling  the 
account  by  putting  the  sum  out  at  interest,  in  benefit  of 
the  claimant,  or  in  a  worse  case  he  would  pay  a  part  of  the 
amount  due  and  carry  the  balance  as  a  credit  at  current 
interest  rates.  In  short,  every  possible  device  was  re 
sorted  to  to  withstand  the  attacks  which  were  incessantly 
directed  against  the  Treasury. 

There  seemed  to  be  scarce  one  man  in  the  Colonies 
who  did  not  hold  some  pecuniary  claim  against  the 
government.  Some  had  come  to  Philadelphia  to  pre 
sent  their  accounts  in  person,  and  found  themselves  with 
out  money  enough  to  return  home.  Others  had  not  a 


178  ROBERT   MORRIS 

farthing  for  a  night's  lodging,  and  still  others  had  families 
which  were  slowly  starving  because  of  the  struggling 
young  nation's  disregard  of  the  just  rights  of  the  public 
creditors. 

Whenever  he  could  gracefully  do  so,  Morris  took 
occasion  to  instil  into  his  visitors  a  lesson  in  thrift  and 
economy.  He  preached  frugality  to  military  officers, 
naval  officers,  hospital  officers,  civil  officers,  and  agents 
in  the  Commissary  Department.  The  clerks  in  his  own 
office  asked  that  their  salaries  might  be  increased,  but 
he  refused,  curtly  informing  them  that  such  talent  was 
very  abundant,  and  if  they  chose  to  leave  the  service, 
many  at  the  time  out  of  employment  could  be  secured 
to  take  their  places. 

"  As  to  dearness  of  living  which  is  the  usual  reason 
assigned,  I  can  only  say,"  wrote  the  Financier,  "  that  the 
parties  must  economize  so  as  to  bring  their  expenses 
within  their  income." 

A  young  man,  Thomas  Edison,  who  had  a  small  claim 
against  the  government,  was  told  that  "he  was  too 
expensive  for  his  circumstances  and  that  Congress  did 
not  mean  to  support  extravagance." 

There  were  some,  of  course,  to  whom  Mr.  Morris  could 
not  offer  advice  so  freely.  He  must  take  politer  means 
of  protecting  the  "poor  Treasury"  against  raids.  A 
colonel  who  applied  for  money  to  move  an  army  corps 
was  plainly  told  that  it  "was  better  they  never  moved 
than  that  they  should  distress  or  destroy  the  little  public 
credit  which  I  have  established."  And  to  Washington 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  179 

himself  who  had  asked  for  a  sum  to  carry  stores  to 
military  posts  in  northern  and  western  New  York,  Mr. 
Morris  wrote,  "  Every  new  demand  for  money  makes  me 
shudder." 

With  many  others,  Morris  satisfied  his  conscience  by 
denying  personal  responsibility  for  the  debt  and  referred 
the  claim  to  the  Paymaster  General,  the  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  Congress  or  the  negligent  states  which 
were  not  paying  their  quotas  for  the  public  service. 

To  a  Continental  officer,  John  Townes,  whom  he 
addressed  as  John  Townes,  Esq.,  with  apologies  since  he 
was  ignorant  of  his  rank,  Mr.  Morris  wrote :  "  No  man 
laments  more  than  I  do  the  situation  of  military  gentle 
men  in  want  of  the  pay  that  is  due  them,  and  it  is  one 
part  of  my  study  to  provide  a  remedy.  This,  however, 
must  be  done  by  general  system  and  not  by  partial  dis 
pensations,  and  you  will  be  sensible  that  if  I  act  the 
paymaster,  I  shall  of  necessity  neglect,  what  is  of  much 
more  importance,  my  proper  duties.  Whilst  it  was  in 
my  power,  I  was  happy  to  administer  to  the  relief  of 
gentlemen  who,  like  you,  were  involved  in  distress  by 
misfortune,  but  the  late  movements  of  the  army  have 
drained  me  of  the  means,  and  I  am  obliged  to  refer  you 
to  the  Paymaster  General  where  your  application  should 
in  propriety  be  made." 

General  Lincoln  called  at  the  Office  of  Finance  to  get 
an  appropriation  for  covered  wagons,  but  Mr.  Morris 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  "  we  ought  not  to  make 
more  contracts  until  the  states  would  pay  taxes  to  en- 


180  ROBERT   MORRIS 

able  a  compliance  with  them,  of  which  there  is  no  present 
appearance."  Many  of  the  creditors  were  told  to  return 
home  and  make  common  cause  with  their  neighbors  in 
influencing  the  state  legislatures  to  meet  the  requisitions 
of  Congress,  so  that  there  would  be  money  in  the 
Treasury  to  pay  their  claims. 

Baron  de  Frey,  a  foreign  soldier  of  fortune,  had  applied 
to  Congress  for  money  to  enable  him  to  return  to  Europe. 
Having  received  nothing  from  that  body,  he  called  upon 
the  Superintendent  of  Finance.  Mr.  Morris  explained 
that  this  was  a  matter  entirely  out  of  his  sphere,  but 
that  if  the  Baron  chose,  he  would  report  to  Congress  his 
opinion  in  the  case,  which  was  that  "  they  cannot  con 
sistently  make  grants  of  public  money  on  the  principles 
of  generosity  until  such  time  as  they  are  first  enabled  to 
pay  the  money  justly  due  to  numerous  distressed  public 
creditors."  This  attention,  Mr.  Morris  says  in  recording 
the  incident,  was  declined  by  the  Baron,  "and  I  hope," 
the  Financier  adds  with  some  humor,  "that  he  may 
arrive  safe  in  his  own  country." 

In  still  other  cases  Mr.  Morris  feigned  great  anger  with 
his  visitors,  being  deeply  insulted  by  what  they  told  him. 
In  this  r61e  he  was  very  successful.  Now  and  again  his 
callers  said  "  many  improper  things  in  great  passion  "  to 
which  he  was  obliged  to  reply  "in  some  warmth."  His 
interview  with  Cornet  John  Middleton  is  an  amusing 
illustration  of  one  of  the  great  Financier's  official  moods 
as  well  as  an  evidence  of  how  the  Office  of  Finance  and 
the  War  Office  sometimes  played  at  the  game  of  battle- 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       181 

dore  and  shuttlecock.  Middleton  had  called  on  Morris 
to  secure  enough  money  to  carry  him  back  to  General 
Greene,  then  operating  in  the  Southern  states.  He  had 
been  sent  north  on  public  business  by  the  Southern  com 
mander.  He  had  already  written  to  the  Office  of  Finance 
for  money.  Failing  to  receive  it,  he  called  in  person  and 
was  told  by  the  clerk  that  he  must  have  an  order  from 
the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Lincoln.  Securing  no 
satisfaction  at  the  War  Office,  Middleton  returned  to 
the  Office  of  Finance,  and  Mr.  Morris  himself  is  a  witness 
to  what  subsequently  occurred.  "  I  repeated  the  same 
thing  to  Mr.  Middleton,"  says  Mr.  Morris,  "  that  he  must 
have  an  order  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  but  the  Southern 
commissioner  replied  that  General  Lincoln  had  said  this 
matter  lay  solely  with  me,  and  referred  him  to  me  for 
the  money  necessary  to  carry  him  back  to  his  duty,  add 
ing,  with  some  petulance,  that  he  did  not  understand  being 
sent  from  one  office  to  another  and  back  again  in  such 
a  manner,  to  which  I  replied,  '  Then,  Sir,  you  have  my 
answer,  which  is  plainly  this,  that  I  will  not  grant  any 
money  to  military  officers,  but  upon  application  or  repre 
sentation  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  that  all  personal 
applications  to  me  by  officers  on  that  subject  was  [szV] 
improper.'  He  said  General  Lincoln  had  sent  him  hither, 
and  if  there  was  an  impropriety,  it  lay  with  him,  but  he 
supposed  he  knew  what  was  and  what  was  not  within 
his  department.  I  smilingly  replied,  'Be  it  so,  but  I 
will  not  grant  any  money  but  through  him,'  to  which 
he  replied  that  he  could  not  make  me  do  it.  I  told  him 


182  ROBERT   MORRIS 

this  was  very  improper  language,  and  was  about  to  leave 
him  when  he  explained  that  he  meant  by  that  expression 
no  insult,  but  to  intimate  that  he  could  not  help  himself. 
Thus  we  parted,  pretty  much  dissatisfied  with  each  other, 
although  I  presume  that  if  this  gentleman,  and  many 
others  wanting  money  from  the  public,  knew  exactly 
my  situation,  they  would  find  reason  to  applaud  rather 
than  blame  my  care  and  attention  in  the  expenditures." 
A  few  creditors,  in  the  summer  of  1783,  actually  drove 
Morris  and  Congress  out  of  the  city.  Eighty  Continental 
soldiers  under  arms  marched  into  Philadelphia  to  col 
lect  their  back  pay.  The  Financier  sent  for  President 
Thomas  Willing,  advising  him  to  use  precautions  to  pro 
tect  the  bank.  The  whole  city  was  in  a  fright.  Morris, 
as  the  mutineers  marched  to  the  State  House,  went  to 
his  own  house  to  tell  his  family  in  order  to  "prevent 
improper  alarms."  He  then  took  refuge  in  the  home  of 
a  friend,  whither  the  men  would  not  be  likely  to  pursue 
him,  "to  await  the  event."  In  the  evening  he  visited  the 
President  of  the  state  to  urge  that  the  militia  be  called 
out,  but  his  mission  failing,  he  was  ready  to  listen  to  the 
advice  of  a  Committee  of  Congress,  of  which  Fitzsimmons, 
Wilson,  Hamilton,  and  Peters  were  members,  to  leave 
the  city  secretly  with  that  body  for  Princeton,  Hamilton 
fearing  that  if  they  remained,  the  Financier  or  some  of 
the  Congressmen  would  be  seized  and  held  as  hostages. 
Accordingly  Congress  fled,  and  with  it  went  Robert  and 
Gouverneur  Morris.  Public  business  was  suspended  until 
further  notice,  the  Financier  intrusting  the  "  office  and  all 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  183 

the  papers  therein  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Samuel  Lyon,  the  Sec 
retary,  with  orders  to  keep  constantly  in  the  office  during 
my  absence,  and,  in  case  the  soldiers  came  with  mis 
chievous  intent,  to  inform  them  that  the  whole  army 
are  interested  in  those  papers,  and  indeed  all  America, 
and  that  they  must  expect  the  resentment  of  the  whole 
if  any  destruction  is  committed."  Morris  and  his  assist 
ant  remained  for  more  than  a  week  at  Trenton  and 
Princeton  before  they  got  permission  from  the  President 
of  Congress  to  return  to  Philadelphia  and  resume  the 
direction  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

While  Morris  had  taken  his  post  with  the  express  under 
standing  that  he  should  not  be  burdened  with  the  debts 
which  Congress  and  its  financial  agents  had  heaped  up  at 
earlier  stages  of  the  war,  he  felt  himself  not  without  re 
sponsibility  for  these  obligations.  He  could  not  well  dis 
own  the  contracts  regularly  entered  into  by  the  government 
if  he  had  wished  to  do  so.  Upon  his  ability  to  live  ami 
cably  with  older  creditors  depended  his  success  in  securing 
new  credits.  Repudiation  would  have  been  equivalent 
to  a  declaration  of  bankruptcy,  and  he  was  far  too  shrewd 
and  also  much  too  honest  to  counsel  such  a  course.  More 
over,  he  at  no  time  shrank  from  his  fair  part  in  the  work 
of  funding  the  Continental  debt  and  arranging  for  the 
final  payment  of  the  creditors.  He  entered  the  Office  of 
Finance,  vowing  to  use  all  new  monies  for  current  pur 
poses,  but  his  administration  was  one  long  protest  against 
repudiation  and  confiscation.  He  resigned  once  because 
of  the  states'  refusal  to  recognize  the  force  of  their  obliga- 


184  ROBERT   MORRIS 

tions,  and  his  final  leave-taking  of  the  office  was  effected 
amid  vigorous  denunciations  of  a  policy  which  disregarded 
the  just  rights  of  public  creditors. 

In  January,  1781,  just  before  IVfcorris  became  Superintend 
ent  of  Finance,  Congress  had  recommended  to  the  states 
a  duty  of  five  per  cent  on  imports  anavon  prizes  and  prize 
goods  taken  by  privateers.  Primarily, \this  policy  was 
adopted  to  satisfy  the  qualms  of  France\so  that  more 
money  could  be  extorted  from  the  King  and  njs  reluctant 
ministers.  Complaints  were  loud  that  France  \fcas  repay 
ing  France,  that  French  money,  lately  voted  to  America, 
was  being  used  to  pay  the  interest  on  old  loans.  To  allay 
the  unpleasantness  which  such  a  policy  of  necessity 
engendered,  it  appeared  advisable  to  create  a  Continental 
fund,  and  it  was  conceived  that  ad  valorem  import  duties, 
if  the  states  would  be  gracious  enough  to  comply,  might 
meet  the  necessities  of  the  case,  and  provide  the  money 
with  which  to  pay  the  interest  and,  at  length,  the  principal 
of  the  Continental  debt. 

Morris  inherited  this  recommendation  to  the  states 
from  the  Confederation's  impotent  parliament.  The  states, 
in  this  matter  as  in  others,  resented  the  exercise  of  any 
supervising,  central  authority.  Some  wished  that  the  tax 
should  be  "  carried  to  the  account  of  the  state  where  it  is 
levied."  Morris  vigorously  combated  such  a  suggestion. 
*'  If  there  are  doubts  as  to  the  justice  of  Congress,"  he 
observed,  "  that  body  should  not  have  been  intrusted  with 
the  power  of  apportioning  quotas  on  the  several  states." 
Always  a  federalist,  he  argued  that,  "articles  imported 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  185 

into  the  country  are  consumed  in  the  country.  If  each 
pays  a  duty,  that  duty  will  be  paid  by  all.  The  tax  will 
fall  equally  on  all,  and  therefore  ought  in  justice  to  be 
carried  to  the  general  account." 

It  was  also  suggested  by  the  states*  rights  men,  that  the 
public  debts  should  be  apportioned  among  the  states,  each 
being  called  to  take  up  its  separate  proportion  of  the 
whole  sum.  "  This  measure,"  Morris  declared,  "  would  be 
sufficient  to  destroy  the  credit  of  any  country.  The  cred 
itors  trust  the  Union,  and  there  can  be  no  right  to  alter 
the  pledge  which  they  have  accepted  for  any  other,  even 
for  a  better  one,  without  their  free  consent.  But  this  is 
not  all ;  there  is  in  it  a  principle  of  disunion  implied  which 
must  be  ruinous.  Even  at  this  late  period  the  states 
might  singly  be  subjugated.  Their  strength  is  derived 
from  their  Union.  Everything,  therefore,  which  injures 
that  Union,  must  impair  the  strength  which  is  dependent 
upon  it." 

On  July  27,  1781,  when  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island, 
New  York,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  North  Carolina 
had  still  not  given  their  assent  to  the  five  per  cent  im 
post  law,  Morris  addressed  the  governors  of  those  states 
as  follows :  "  I  find  upon  examination  that  the  recom 
mendation  of  Congress  of  the  3d  of  February  last,  for 
laying  an  impost  of  five  per  cent  on  goods  imported, 
and  a  like  impost  of  five  per  cent  on  prizes  and  prize 
goods,  has  not  been  complied  with  by  your  state.  The 
object  which  Congress  had  in  view  when  they  issued 
this  recommendation  was  of  the  utmost  importance, 


186  ROBERT   MORRIS 

and  every  day  gives  it  an  additional  weight  and  magni 
tude.  .  .  .  The  public  debt  is  large  and  increasing. 
The  faith  of  the  United  States  is  pledged  to  the  public 
creditors.  At  every  new  loan  it  must  be  pledged  anew, 
and  an  appeal  is  now  made  to  the  states  individually 
to  support  the  public  faith  so  solemnly  pledged.  If 
they  do,  it  is  possible  that  public  credit  may  be  restored ; 
if  not,  our  enemies  will  draw  from  thence  strong  argu 
ments  in  favor  of  what  they  have  so  often  asserted,  that 
we  are  unworthy  of  confidence,  that  our  union  is  a 
rope  of  sand,  that  the  people  are  weary  of  Congress, 
and  that  the  respective  states  are  determined  to  reject 
its  authority.  Your  Excellency  will  be  able  at  once 
to  determine  whether  that  Union  is  more  than  nominal, 
in  which  any  part  shall  refuse  to  be  bound  for  the 
debts  of  the  whole,  or  to  contribute  to  the  general 
defence." 

As  the  months  wore  on,  and  the  states  still  refused 
to  comply,  Morris's  earnestness  increased.  On  Janu 
ary  3,  1782,  eleven  months  after  Congress  had  asked 
for  the  tax,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Maryland 
had  still  not  enacted  the  necessary  laws.  Instead  of 
addressing  their  governors  only,  he  sent  his  circular  to 
all  the  states,  so  that  the  negligence  of  the  trio  might 
be  matter  of  common  knowledge.  On  this  occasion 
he  wrote :  "  The  public  debt  is  considerable,  and  the 
public  credit  must  be  lost,  if  the  interest  of  it  be  not 
provided  for.  Congress  have  done  their  duty  in  re 
questing  revenue,  and  I  have  done  mine  in  soliciting 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  187 

a  compliance  with  their  request.  It  only  remains  for 
me  to  bear  testimony  against  those  who  oppose  that 
compliance,  and  to  declare  that  they,  and  they  only, 
must  be  responsible  for  the  consequences.  They  are 
answerable  to  the  other  states,  to  their  fellow-citizens, 
to  the  public  creditors,  and  to  the  whole  world.  I 
must  speak  plainly  on  this  subject.  I  must  point  out 
from  time  to  time  the  reason  of  those  things  which  have 
produced  murmurs  and  complaints  against  the  repre 
sentative  body  of  America.  I  must  direct  those  who 
suffer  to  those  who  occasion  their  sufferings,  and  those 
who  are  injured  to  those  who  have  done  them  wrong. 
Let  me,  then,  once  more  entreat  that  this  great  object 
be  seriously  considered.  Let  me  repeat  that  the  hope 
of  our  enemy  is  in  the  derangement  of  our  finances ; 
and  let  me  add  that  when  revenue  is  given,  that  hope 
must  cease.  He,  therefore,  who  opposes  the  grant 'of 
such  revenue,  not  only  opposes  himself  to  the  dictates 
of  justice,  but  he  labors  to  continue  the  war,  and  of 
consequence  to  shed  more  blood,  to  produce  more  devas 
tation,  and  to  extend  and  prolong  the  miseries  of 
mankind." 

In  August,  1782,  all  the  states  had  voted  to  levy  the 
tax  except  Rhode  Island,  and  this  financial  measure, 
therefore,  awaited  the  pleasure  of  that  small,  but  at  all 
times  obstreperous  commonwealth.  Its  representatives 
offered  as  many  as  nine  separate  objections  to  the  law. 
To  all  of  these  Morris  made  specific  replies,  testifying 
in  an  unusual  way  to  his  comprehensive  grasp  of  eco- 


188  ROBERT   MORRIS 

nomic  questions.  In  October  the  state  still  withheld 
its  approval.  When  he  had  prospects  of  bringing  in 
the  last  laggard,  he  discovered,  as  he  had  known  from 
the  first,  that  the  impost  was  a  totally  impracticable 
kind  of  tax.  It  would  be  powerless  to  yield  anything 
like  an  adequate  revenue  to  take  care  of  the  debt  which, 
if  not  large  according  to  modern  estimates,  was  an 
overwhelming  burden  to  the  impotent  government  he 
was  endeavoring  to  serve. 

It  was  not  quite  certain  how  great  the  debt  of  the  Con 
tinent  had  really  come  to  be.  In  a  report  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  Congress,  in  the  summer  of  1782,  Morris  placed 
the  acknowledged  debt  at  $12,000,000,  the  unsettled  debt 
at  $8,000,000,  and  the  sum  owed  to  France  at  15,000,000, 
a  total  of,  say,  $25,000,000.  The  loans  needed  for  the 
service  of  1783  would,  he  thought,  raise  the  amount  to 
more  than  $30,000,000.  In  a  later  report  to  Congress, 
based  on  more  specific  knowledge,  he  increased  his  esti 
mates,  and  stated  that  the  principal  of  the  public  debt  up 
to  January  1,  1783,  was  $35,327,769.  This  total  excluded 
the  "unliquidated  debt"  due  to  several  states,  and  to 
individuals  in  them,  which  had  not  yet  been  adjusted. 
There  were  besides  other  outstanding  obligations,  more  or 
less  binding  upon  Congress,  such  as  the  old  Continental 
bills,  and  claims  for  arrearages  of  half  pay  to  the  army. 
"  Congress  will  easily  see,"  observed  Morris,  "  that  it  is 
not  in  the  power  of  their  servants  to  state  the  public 
debts  with  any  tolerable  precision." 

Assuming  that   the   impost   could   be   collected,   what 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  189 

would  it  avail  ?  Foreign  goods  and  prize  goods  might  be 
brought  into  the  states  to  a  value  of  $12,000,000  annu 
ally,  but  even  in  so  favorable  a  case,  the  tax  at  five  per 
cent  would  yield  only  $600,000,  from  which  a  full  sixth, 
Morris  knew  by  experience,  must  be  deducted  to  meet  the 
cost  of  collection  and  cover  defalcations.  The  impost 
would  be  evaded,  he  said,  because  of  its  ad  valorem  fea 
ture.  The  law  would  admit  of  arbitrary  estimates  of 
value.  The  states  had  not  punctually  or  properly  col 
lected  taxes  which  they  had  earlier  laid,  and  he  had  little 
hope  that  they  would  suddenly  mend  their  methods.  He 
anticipated,  therefore,  the  need  of  other  forms  of  income, 
and  recommended  to  the  President  of  Congress  various 
measures  designed  to  facilitate  the  operations  of  his  de 
partment.  He  suggested  a  land-tax,  a  poll-tax,  an  excise- 
tax  on  distilled  liquors,  and  a  house-tax.  Duties  on 
exports  he  declared  were  much  to  be  preferred  to  duties 
on  imports,  in  the  country's  situation  at  the  period.  He 
presented  to  Congress  schedules  of  rates  carefully  worked 
out  which,  had  they  been  approved  and  had  the  Union 
been  vested  with  a  right,  under  the  Articles  of  Confeder 
ation,  to  go  into  the  states  to  collect  the  revenues  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  the  proper  conduct  of  the  government, 
would  have  abundantly  provided  for  the  payment  of  the 
public  creditors.  But  his  advice  did  not  seem  to  be 
highly  regarded.  He  felt  the  indignity  keenly,  for  the 
war  having  been  brought  to  its  end  to  all  practical  pur 
poses,  the  sole  task  yet  remaining  for  him  to  perform  was 
to  fund  and  liquidate  the  Continental  debt. 


190  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Mr.  Morris  had  made  definite  promises  to  creditors  at 
the  Office  of  Finance,  which  lack  of  cooperation  on  the 
part  of  Congress  and  the  states  rendered  it  impossible 
for  him  to  fulfil.  Men  to  whom  public  money  was 
justly  due  had  pursued  him  from  Sunday  to  Saturday, 
ever  since  he  had  become  Superintendent  of  the  young 
nation's  finances.  He  had  exhausted  every  subterfuge, 
his  own  patience,  and  stretched  his  own  conscientious 
sense.  Of  a  number  of  creditors  who  presented  their 
claims  at  his  office,  he  writes  in  his  Diary,  "  I  told  them 
my  disposition  to  pay  equalled  their  desire  to  receive, 
but  unless  the  governments  will  levy  and  the  people  pay 
taxes,  I  cannot  possibly  do  them  justice  or  gratify  my 
own  inclinations." 

To  Donaldson  Yeates,  as  early  as  December,  1781,  he 
wrote :  "  I  am  sorry  to  observe  such  an  impatience  as  you 
represent  in  the  public  creditors.  If  they  and  their  fellow- 
citizens,  instead  of  uttering  complaints  on  every  occasion, 
would  exert  themselves  in  paying  their  own  and  influenc 
ing  their  neighbors  to  pay  their  taxes  for  the  Continental 
service,  I  should  soon  hope  to  see  our  affairs  on  such  a 
footing  as  to  silence  all  complaints ;  but,  whilst  the  people 
are  grasping  at  every  farthing  the  public  possesses,  and 
no  measures  are  taken  to  replenish  the  fountain  from 
whence  payments  spring,  what  can  they  expect  ?  " 

"  The  monies  obtained  either  at  home  or  abroad  for 
the  current  service,"  Morris  writes  again,  "must  be 
applied  to  it.  The  monies  granted  for  the  payment  of 
debts  shall  be  faithfully  appropriated  to  that  use,  and, 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  191 

until  proper  funds  be  provided,  the  debts  must  remain 
unpaid." 

To  others  he  explained  that  he  had  frequently  called 
upon  the  legislatures  to  grant  money  to  relieve  their  dis 
tress.  As  his  own  requests  were  unheeded,  he  recom 
mended  that  his  applications  be  supported  "  by  memorials, 
petitions,  and  remonstrances  from  the  creditors  individu 
ally  and  collectively  addressed  to  all  the  legislatures." 
The  members  of  a  committee  appointed  by  various  pub 
lic  creditors  who  visited  the  Financier  to  solicit  payment 
of  interest  on  the  debt  were  advised  "  to  make  one  com 
mon  cause  with  the  whole  of  the  public  creditors  of  every 
kind,  to  unite  their  interests  so  that  they  might  be  able  to 
have  influence  on  all  the  legislatures  in  the  several  states." 
He  advised,  too,  that  when  a  funding  system  was  adopted 
by  Congress,  "  that  they  give  invariably  their  whole  sup 
port  to  that  system,  and  that  they  avoid  the  language  of 
threat  which  has  already  been  complained  of  in  their  pro 
ceedings."  He  coolly  explained  that  no  interest  would  be 
paid  them  during  the  current  year.  He  was  himself  "  ready 
to  pursue  every  reasonable  and  proper  measure  to  obtain 
justice  for  the  public  creditors,"  and  their  only  recourse, 
so  far  as  he  could  see,  was  to  unite  against  state  legislators 
who  opposed  taxation  "  from  local  and  popular  views." 

Morris  prepared  impressive  arguments  for  presentation 
to  Congress  as  well  as  to  the  separate  states.  There 
were,  he  declared,  two  matters  to  be  considered  —  "  what 
justice  requires,"  and  "  what  Congress  have  power  to  do." 
In  the  first  case  "  justice  requires  that  the  debt  be  paid," 


192  ROBERT   MORRIS 

the  Financier  observed.  "  The  principles  of  justice  re 
quire  that  from  a  government  which  a  court  of  justice 
exacts  from  an  individual."  For  the  answer  to  the 
second  question  he  appealed  to  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation  (eighth  article)  from  which  he  deduced  the 
principle  that  the  whole  sum  outstanding  must  be  paid 
by  the  states  proportionably.  "It  is  in  the  power  of 
Congress,"  he  urged,  "  to  call  for  payment  of  the  whole 
debt  by  any  day,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  first  of 
January.  The  right  of  Congress,"  he  continued,  "  is 
perfect,  and  the  duty  to  pay  absolute." 

In  any  new  scheme  which  might  be  devised  for  raising 
taxes,  it  was  "  indispensable,"  in  his  view,  that  the  collec 
tors  be  appointed  by  the  authority  of  the  United  States. 
In  no  case,  he  said,  should  tax-gatherers  be  of  the  people's 
choosing.  But  there  was  little  need  to  discuss  this  point. 
The  question  was  academic  to  the  last  degree.  Not  only 
did  Rhode  Island  refuse  to  pass  the  law,  but  Virginia  actu 
ally  repealed  it  after  having  at  first  approved.  Morris 
suggested,  recommended,  pleaded.  His  motives  were  mis 
interpreted,  and  his  personal  character  defamed  ;  and  on 
January  24,  1783,  he  sent  a  letter  to  Congress  which  fell 
like  a  bombshell,  even  among  those  members  who  were 
most  troublesomely  hostile  to  his  policies.  This  letter 
read  as  follows  :  — 

"To  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  CONGRESS. 

"SiR:  As  nothing  but  the  public  danger  would 
have  induced  me  to  accept  my  office,  so  I  was  deter- 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       193 

mined  to  hold  it  until  the  danger  was  past,  or  else 
meet  my  ruin  in  the  common  wreck.  Under  greater 
difficulties  than  were  apprehended  by  the  most  timid,  and 
with  less  support  than  was  expected  by  the  least  san 
guine,  the  generous  confidence  of  the  public  has  accom 
plished  more  than  I  presumed  to  hope. 

"  Congress  will  recollect  that  I  expressly  stipulated 
to  take  no  part  in  past  transactions.  My  attention  to 
the  public  debts,  therefore,  arose  from  the  conviction, 
that  funding  them  on  solid  revenues  was  the  last 
essential  work  of  our  glorious  revolution.  The  accom 
plishment  of  this  necessary  work  is  among  the  objects 
nearest  my  heart,  and,  to  effect  it,  I  would  sacrifice 
time,  property,  and  domestic  bliss. 

"Many  late  circumstances  have  so  far  lessened  our 
apprehensions  from  the  common  enemy,  that  my  origi 
nal  motives  have  almost  ceased  to  operate.  But  other 
circumstances  have  postponed  the  establishment  of  pub 
lic  credit  in  such  a  manner  that  I  fear  it  will  never 
be  made.  To  increase  our  debts,  while  the  prospect  of 
paying  them  diminishes,  does  not  consist  with  my  idea 
of  integrity.  I  must,  therefore,  quit  a  situation  which 
becomes  utterly  insupportable.  But  lest  the  public 
measures  might  be  deranged  by  any  precipitation,  I  will 
continue  to  serve  until  the  end  of  May.  If  effectual 
measures  are  not  taken  by  that  period,  to  make  per 
manent  provision  for  the  public  debts  of  every  kind, 
Congress  will  be  pleased  to  appoint  some  other  man  to 
be  the  Superintendent  of  their  Finances.  I  should  be 


194  ROBERT   MORRIS 

unworthy  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  me  by  my  fellow- 
citizens  if  I  did  not  explicit^  declare,  that  I  will  never 
be  the  minister  of  injustice. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc. 

"  ROBERT  MORRIS." 

Congress,  fearful  of  the  effect  of  Morris's  resignation, 
enjoined  him  to  secrecy.  If  he  should  persist  in  his 
resolution  to  retire,  his  purpose  must  be  concealed  from 
the  public,  lest  it  lead  to  consequences  of  dangerous 
gravity  to  the  nation.  A  month  passed,  when  Mr. 
Morris  again  addressed  Congress,  praying  that  this  in 
junction  be  removed  for,  "  I  wished,"  he  explained  after 
ward,  "  to  give  due  and  seasonable  information  of  my 
removal  to  those  who  had  confided  in  me."  He  at 
once  wrote  to  General  Washington  enclosing  a  copy  of 
his  resignation,  with  his  reasons  for  not  advising  the 
Commander-in-chief  of  his  determination  at  the  time  it 
was  reached  a  few  weeks  before. 

"I  do  assure  you,  Sir,"  said  Morris  in  this  letter, 
"  that  nothing  would  have  induced  me  to  take  this  step 
but  a  painful  conviction  that  the  situation  of  those  to 
whom  the  public  are  indebted  is  desperate.  I  believe 
sincerely  that  a  great  majority  of  the  members  of  Con 
gress  wish  to  do  justice;  but  I  as  sincerely  believe  that 
they  will  not  adopt  the  necessary  measures,  because 
they  are  afraid  of  offending  their  states.  From  my 
soul  I  pity  the  army  and  you,  my  dear  Sir,  in  particu 
lar,  who  must  see  and  feel  their  distresses  without  the 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  195 

power  of  relieving  them.  ...  I  hope  my  successor  will 
be  more  fortunate  than  I  have  been,  and  that  our 
glorious  revolution  may  be  crowned  with  those  acts  of 
justice,  without  which  the  greatest  human  glory  is  but 
the  shadow  of  a  shade." 

Washington  wrote  in  reply  from  his  headquarters : 
"Very  painful  sensations  are  excited  in  my  mind  by 
your  letter.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  to  you 
the  regret  with  which  I  received  the  information  it 
contains.  I  have  often  reflected  with  much  solicitude 
upon  the  disagree  able  ness  of  your  situation,  and  the 
negligence  of  the  several  states,  in  not  enabling  you 
to  do  that  justice  to  the  public  creditors  which  their 
demands  require.  I  wish  the  step  you  have  taken  may 
sound  the  claim  to  their  inmost  souls  and  rouse  them 
to  a  just  sense  of  their  own  interest,  honor,  and  credit. 
...  If  your  resolutions  are  absolutely  fixed,  I  assure 
you  I  consider  the  event  as  one  of  the  most  unfortu 
nate  that  could  have  fallen  upon  the  states,  and  most 
sincerely  deprecate  the  sad  consequences  which  I  fear 
will  follow." 

While  Morris  was  as  sincere  as  any  man  could  be 
when  he  asked  to  be  relieved  of  his  troublesome  office, 
the  fact  is  not  to  be  concealed  that  he  hoped,  by  means 
of  this  act,  so  to  arouse  Congress  and  the  states  to  the 
dangers  of  their  continued  negligence,  that  they  would 
at  once  agree  to  his  plan,  or  to  some  other  sensible 
plan  for  funding  the  public  debts.  His  enemies  were 
free  to  say  that  this  was  his  motive,  that  he  really  desired 


196  ROBERT   MORRIS 

to  continue  in  his  office,  and  had  only  taken  the  step  in 
order  to  impose  his  particular  views  upon  the  country. 
On  this  point  his  letters  to  Congress  rang  with  all  the 
eloquent  horror  that  he  could  so  well  express  when 
there  were  those  near  him  who  read  a  sinister  meaning 
into  any  of  his  public  movements.  "  I  knew  that  until 
some  plain  and  rational  system  should  be  adopted  and 
acceded  to,"  he  wrote  one  day  to  the  President  of  Con 
gress,  "  the  business  of  this  office  would  be  a  business 
of  expedient  and  chicane.  I  have  neither  the  talents 
nor  the  disposition  to  engage  in  such  business,  and 
therefore  I  prayed  to  be  dismissed." 

Again  he  wrote  to  Congress :  "  Under  the  resolution  in 
its  present  form  I  cannot  stay.  I  shall  detain  your  Ex 
cellency  no  longer  than  to  mention  that  I  am  sensible 
some  other  men  may  still  suppose  that  I  am  desirous  of 
obtaining  from  Congress  some  more  particular  resolutions. 
To  obviate  such  disingenuous  remarks  it  is  my  humble 
request  that  no  further  question  be  made  on  my  subject." 

Despite  his  protests  it  is  certain  that  Morris  hoped  by 
his  resignation,  timed  as  it  was  to  take  effect  at  a  rather 
distant  future  date,  to  bring  Congress  to  his  own  views. 
While  this  motive  may  have  meant  some  duplicity  and 
implied  some  vanity  to  those  industrious  persons  who 
had  long  planned  his  undoing,  it  will  be  adjudged  an 
entirely  patriotic  motive  in  the  light  of  all  our  informa 
tion  at  the  present  day.  In  his  letter  of  January  24,  he 
had  plainly  informed  Congress  what  it  might  do  if  it 
wished  to  avail  itself  longer  of  his  services  as  Financier. 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  197 

To  General  Greene  on  March  12,  1783,  Morris  wrote, 
amplifying  his  purposes  and  views :  "  The  Congress  have 
now  and  have  long  since  had  under  their  consideration 
a  due  provision  for  the  public  debts ;  when  they  will  con 
clude  it  and  which  it  will  be,  God  only  knows.  If  it  is 
such  as  in  my  opinion  will  do  justice,  I  shall  stay  some 
what  longer  in  office  to  know  the  decision  of  the  states, 
and  if  their  proceedings  are  what  on  such  an  occasion 
they  ought  to  be,  I  shall  spare  no  labor  and  regret  no  time 
in  completing  the  business,  so  that  my  successor  may  re 
ceive  it  from  my  hands  as  clear  and  simple  as  it  was 
confused  and  embarrassed  when  it  was  undertaken.  But 
if  these  things  do  not  happen,  you  and  every  other  good 
man  will,  I  hope,  acquit  me  for  leaving  a  post  in  which 
I  am  totally  unsupported,  and  where  I  must  be  daily 
the  witness  to  scenes  of  poignant  anguish  and  deep 
injustice  without  the  possibility  of  administering  either 
relief  or  palliation.  ...  I  felt  the  consequences  of  my 
resignation  on  the  public  credit.  I  felt  the  probable  de 
rangement  of  our  affairs.  I  felt  the  difficulties  my  suc 
cessor  would  have  to  encounter,  but  still  I  felt  that  above 
all  things  it  was  a  duty  to  be  honest.  This  first  and 
highest  principle  has  been  obeyed.  I  do  not  hold  myself 
answerable  for  consequences.  Those  are  to  be  attributed 
to  the  opposers  of  just  measures,  let  their  rank  and  station 
be  what  they  may." 

Even  by  close  friends  like  Washington  and  Hamilton, 
Mr.  Morris's  action  was  not  fully  understood.  It  looked 
to  them  like  a  desertion  of  the  cause  at  a  critical  hour. 


198  ROBERT   MORRIS 

It  produced  consternation  as  well  as  dismay.  Washing 
ton  sought  for  reasons  for  the  step  of  Hamilton,  his  former 
aide,  and  his  future  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  wrote 
to  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  army  on  April  11, 
1783:- 

"  As  to  Mr.  Morris,  I  will  give  your  Excellency  a  true 
explanation  of  his  conduct.  He  had  been  for  some  time 
pressing  Congress  to  obtain  funds,  and  had  found  a  great 
backwardness  in  the  business.  He  found  the  taxes  unpro 
ductive  in  the  different  states ;  he  found  the  loans  in 
Europe  making  a  very  slow  progress;  he  found  himself 
pressed  on  all  hands  for  supplies;  he  found  himself  in 
short  reduced  to  this  alternative,  either  of  making  engage 
ments  which  he  could  not  fulfil,  or  declaring  his  resigna 
tion  in  case  funds  were  not  established  by  a  given  time. 
Had  he  followed  the  first  course,  the  bubble  must  soon 
have  burst;  he  must  have  sacrificed  his  credit  and  his 
character;  and  public  credit  already  in  a  ruinous  condi 
tion  would  have  lost  its  last  support.  He  wisely  judged 
it  better  to  resign;  this  might  increase  the  embarrass 
ments  of  the  moment,  but  the  necessity  of  the  case  it 
was  to  be  hoped  would  produce  the  proper  measures ;  and 
he  might  then  resume  the  direction  of  the  machine  with 
advantage  and  success.  He  also  had  some  hope  that  his 
resignation  would  prove  a  stimulus  to  Congress.  He  was, 
however,  ill  advised  in  the  publication  of  his  letters  of 
resignation.  This  was  an  imprudent  step,  and  has  given 
a  handle  to  his  personal  enemies,  who,  by  playing  upon 
the  passions  of  others,  have  drawn  some  well-meaning 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  199 

men  into  the  cry  against  him.  But  Mr.  Morris  certainly 
deserves  a  great  deal  of  his  country.  I  believe  no  man 
in  this  country  but  himself  could  have  kept  the  money 
machine  a-going  during  the  period  he  has  been  in  office. 
From  everything  that  appears,  his  administration  has 
been  upright  as  well  as  able."  l 

Madison  wrote  to  Randolph  in  much  the  same  sense: 
"The  peremptory  style  and  publication  of  Mr.  Morris's 
letters  have  given  offence  to  many  without  and  to  some 
within  Congress.  His  enemies  of  both  descriptions  are 
industrious  in  displaying  this  impropriety.  I  wish  they 
had  less  handle  for  the  purpose." 

To  its  credit,  however,  Congress,  in  its  helplessness, 
realized  the  serious  situation  in  which  Morris's  resigna 
tion  placed  it.  His  old  foes,  Lee  and  Bland,  disparaged 
his  administration,  Lee  declaring  that  the  man  who 
would  publish  to  all  the  world  such  a  picture  of  the 
country's  condition  as  had  been  indicated  or  implied  by 
the  Superintendent's  threatened  retirement,  was  unfit  to 
be  a  minister.  Many  even  urged  that  more  money  was 
to  be  obtained  abroad  if  the  right  steps  were  taken  to 
unloose  Europe's  purse-strings.  To  offset  such  senti 
ments  Alexander  Hamilton  and  James  Wilson  launched 
into  what  Madison  describes  as  "a  copious  defence  and 
panegyric."  Nothing  else  offered  but  a  Treasury  Board 
in  place  of  a  single  minister.  The  vices  of  a  Board  had 
been  fully  displayed  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  war,  and 
"all  impartial  members"  foresaw  that  "the  most  alarming 
1  Hamilton's  Works,  Vol.  I,  p.  355. 


200  ROBERT   MORRIS 

consequences"  would  arise  from  Mr.  Morris's  withdrawal 
from  the  management  of  the  country's  finances. 

Congress,  having  at  first  enjoined  secrecy  in  reference 
to  the  letter  of  resignation,  next  appointed  a  committee, 
of  which  Osgood,  Madison,  Peters,  Hamilton,  and  Bland 
were  members,  to  treat  with  Mr.  Morris.  He  was  pressed 
to  remain  in  office,  and  promises  were  freely  made  that 
he  should  have  support  in  his  laudable  endeavors  to  liqui 
date  the  public  debt.  As  late  as  on  May  1,  on  the  occa 
sion  of  a  visit  from  the  committee,  he  writes  in  his  Diary : 
"  To  all  their  arguments  I  opposed  my  observations  on 
the  conduct  of  Congress  toward  me,  and  I  wish  for  noth 
ing  so  much  as  to  be  relieved  from  this  cursed  scene  of 
drudgery  and  vexation.  I  determined  not  to  continue, 
and  told  them  I  will  immediately  write  a  letter  to  that 
effect  to  the  President."  Nevertheless,  his  determination 
was  not  quite  irrevocable,  for  three  days  later,  on  May  3, 
after  he  had  been  visited  by  another  Congressional  Com 
mittee,  of  which  Hamilton  and  Wilson  were  prominent 
members,  he  writes,  "  I  find  all  my  friends  so  extremely 
anxious  on  this  subject  that  I  have  considered  it  maturely, 
and  as  Congress  have  pledged  themselves  to  support  me 
and  to  enable  me  to  fulfil  all  engagements  taken  on  public 
account,  I  have  concluded  to  continue  so  much  longer 
as  may  be  necessary  to  disband  the  army  and  fulfil  my 
engagements  already  taken,  as  well  a!  those  to  be  taken 
for  the  above  purpose."  On  the  same  day  he  wrote  to 
the  President  of  Congress  an  official  note,  announcing 
his  decision  to  remain  at  his  post,  but  "  I  pray  it  may  be 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       201 

understood,"  he  added,  "  that  my  continuance  in  office  is 
limited  to  the  particular  object  of  fulfilling  my  present 
engagements,  and  those  which  the  necessity  of  our  affairs 
may  compel  me  to  form." 

The  difficulties  attendant  upon  the  disbandment  of 
the  army  were  immense.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  not 
certain  that  the  war  was  really  at  an  end.  Some  wished 
that  the  troops  be  kept  under  arms,  others  that  they  be 
sent  home  on  furlough,  and  still  others  that  they  be  dis 
missed  absolutely.  Morris  was  one  of  those  who  advo 
cated  dismissal,  but  a  compromise  was  effected  on  a 
general  furlough,  so  that  if  trouble  were  resumed,  the 
soldiers  might  easily  be  assembled  again.  But  how  was 
this  operation  to  be  managed?  The  troops  must  be  dis 
banded  to  save  expense,  but  their  very  disbandment 
entailed  large  outlays  of  money.  They  must  not  be 
returned  to  civil  life,  as  Mr.  Morris  remarked,  "  with 
murmurs  and  complaints  in  their  mouths."  It  was  pro 
posed,  therefore,  that  they  should  have  three  months'  pay, 
and  General  Washington  estimated  that  $750,000  would 
be  necessary  for  this  purpose.  How  was  so  great  a  sum 
of  money  to  be  obtained?  The  only  course  open  was 
another  large  issue  of  paper  in  anticipation  of  the  col 
lection  of  the  taxes.  It  was  in  no  spirit  of  vanity  that 
Morris  wrote  to  Congress,  for  he  stated  but  the  simple 
truth :  "  This  is  air  operation  of  great  delicacy,  and  it  is 
essential  to  the  success  of  it  that  my  credit  should  be 
staked  for  the  redemption.  In  issuing  my  notes  to  the 
required  amount,  it  would  be  necessary  that  I  should 


202  ROBERT   MORRIS 

give  an  express  assurance  of  payment,  and,  in  so  doing, 
I  should  be  answerable  personally  for  about  half  a  mill 
ion  when  I  leave  this  office,  and  depend  on  the  arrange 
ments  of  those  who  come  after  me  to  save  me  from 
ruin.  I  am  willing  to  risk  as  much  for  this  country  as 
any  man  in  America,  but  it  cannot  be  expected  that  I 
should  put  myself  in  so  desperate  a  situation." 

While  Congress  had  made  some  promises  about  the 
care  which  it  would  in  future  give  to  the  Continental 
debt,  Morris  was  not  deceived  on  this  point,  and  he  made 
it  perfectly  clear  that  he  did  not  remain  in  office  in  any 
belief  that  his  own  wishes  would  be  acceded  to  in  this 
direction.  To  Washington,  on  May  29,  he  wrote  :  "  I 
hope,  my  dear  Sir,  that  the  state  of  public  affairs  will 
soon  permit  you  to  lay  down  the  cares  of  your  painful 
office.  I  should  in  ten  days  have  been  liberated  from 
mine  if  a  desire  to  free  you  from  your  embarrassments 
and  procure  some  little  relief  to  your  army  had  not  in 
duced  a  continuance  of  them.  But  it  must  be  remem 
bered  that  this  continuance  is  distinct  from  any  idea 
which  may  be  connected  with  the  plans  for  funding  our 
public  debts." 

Morris  lost  no  time  in  transacting  the  business  which 
he  had  undertaken.  The  paper  for  the  notes  which 
bore  the  words  "  U.  S.  National  Debt"  as  a  watermark  was 
hurried  through  the  mill  at  all  possible  speed  and  sent 
to  the  printers.  The  first  parcel  of  notes  was  received 
at  the  Office  of  Finance  on  June  6.  Each  must  be 
signed  by  Mr.  Morris  personally,  and  he  worked  with 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  203 

tireless  energy  all  day  and  far  into  the  night  until  the 
last  note  was  forwarded  to  the  Paymaster  General  for 
distribution  to  the  soldiers.  On  June  7,  the  next  day 
after  the  notes  came  to  Morris  from  the  printing-press, 
the  Paymaster  received  $50,000,  on  the  9th,  $50,000  and 
on  the  13th,  $100,000.  In  six  days  the  Financier  had 
attached  his  name  to  six  thousand  notes  in  addition  to 
the  performance  of  the  regular  duties  of  his  office. 
This  paper  issue  was  made  payable  six  months  after 
date,  and  soon  "  shinplasters "  of  a  face  value  of  more 
than  $1,000,000  were  in  the  hands  of  the  soldiers,  who 
put  them  into  general  circulation  very  rapidly. 

The  Superintendent  of  Finance  knew  the  task  which 
confronted  him.  He  had  passed  through  the  experience 
before,  and  he  resumed  his  attacks  upon  the  governors 
of  the  states  with  a  courage  that  was  indigenous  to  his 
nature.  He  assumed  with  an  appearance  of  sincerity 
that  this  anticipation  would  be  cheerfully  provided  for 
since  it  was  made  "for  that  service  which  all  affect  to 
have  so  much  at  heart,  a  payment  to  the  American 
army."  He  again  closely  plied  the  states,  both  directly 
and  through  his  receivers.  The  results  were  as  meagre 
as  before,  but  as  his  expectations  were  not  large  he  did 
not  give  way  to  disappointment. 

He  busied  himself  too  with  the  other  duties  of  his 
office  from  which  there  was  still  no  relief.  It  had  been 
a  feature  of  his  policy  in  connection  with  his  plans  for 
funding  the  public  debt  to  appoint  a  number  of  commis 
sioners.  These  officers  were  to  adjust  and  ascertain  what 


204  ROBERT   MORRIS 

were  the  outstanding  obligations  of  the  government. 
Thomas  Barclay  had  been  sent  abroad  to  settle  and 
audit  the  American  accounts  in  Europe.  Officers  were 
at  work  on  the  accounts  of  various  departments,  and 
each  state  was  to  have  a  commissioner  who  must  in 
every  case  be  a  citizen  of  some  other  state  to  avoid  the 
appearance  of  partiality.  It  was  made  his  duty  to  ad 
just  the  accounts  with  the  Union,  of  the  state  to  which 
he  was  assigned.  Before  him  also  individuals  who  had 
unadjusted  and  unsatisfied  claims  were  to  appear,  and 
if  their  demands  were  just,  receive  certificates  of  in 
debtedness.  In  this  way  it  would  soon  be  possible  to 
discover  how  great  a  debt  the  Confederation  would  be 
compelled  to  answer  for  at  the  final  settlement. 

As  in  the  appointment  of  receivers,  Mr.  Morris  chose 
his  commissioners  in  the  states  on  the  advice  of  his 
political  friends.  When  they  were  appointed,  they  were 
commended  by  letter  to  the  governors.  Nearly  all  these 
officers  had  been  named  when,  on  September  4,  1783, 
Mr.  Morris  issued  an  order  calling  upon  them  for  re 
ports  as  to  the  characteristics  of  the  population  and  the 
natural  resources  of  the  states  to  which  they  had  been 
sent.  In  this  circular  is  exhibited  the  scope  of  Morris's 
master  mind.  He  anticipated  the  needs  of  those  who 
should  ^come  after  him  in  administering  the  government's 
finances  by  arranging  for  an  encyclopedic-  compilation 
of  all  the  principal  economic  facts  about  America.  The 
state  of  the  country  he  concluded  was  geographical, 
moral,  political,  and  commercial.  Under  these  four 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       205 

heads  the  commissioners  were  to  make  searching  investi 
gations,  communicating  the  results  of  their  inquiries  to 
the  Office  of  Finance. 

In  the  geographical  line  they  were  to  report  concern 
ing  :— 

(1)  The  general  area  of  the  country. 

(2)  The  mountains,  rivers,  and  superficial  features. 

(3)  The  soil  and  the  natural  advantages  of  the  land 
for  agriculture,  mining,  and  other  pursuits. 

On  the  moral  side  Mr.  Morris  conceived  that  report 
should  be  made  on :  — 

(1)  The  size  of  the  population. 

(2)  Mode  of  life  and  occupation  of  the  people. 

(3)  The  state  of  husbandry. 

(4)  Development  of  the  arts,  particularly  the  useful  arts. 

(5)  Character  of  the  buildings. 

(6)  Improvement  of  the  land  and  the  number,  char 
acter,  and  location  of  mills  and  factories. 

The  state  of  the  country  politically  was  to  be  inquired 
into  with  reference  to  :  — 

(1)  The  constitutions. 

(2)  The  magistracy. 

(3)  The  system  of  interior  police. 

(4)  The  revenue  system. 

(5)  The  state  of  public  and  private  credit. 

Under  the  commercial  head  information   must  be   as 
sembled  regarding :  — 

(1)  Produce. 

(2)  Roads  and  navigation. 


206  ROBERT  MORRIS 

(3)  Imports  and  exports. 

(4)  The  value  of  lands. 

(5)  The  value  of  money. 

Specific  directions  were  given  for  collecting  the  statis 
tics  on  these  various  subjects.  The  resources  of  the 
states,  Mr.  Morris  concluded,  were  of  two  kinds,  those 
which  were  available  in  peace,  and  those  which  would 
serve  the  government  in  war.  He  particularly  enjoined 
the  commissioners  to  keep  this  distinction  clear.  On  no 
account  were  they  to  neglect  to  report  upon  the  num 
ber  of  men  who  were  of  fighting  age  and  who  could 
be  called  out  as  soldiers.  They  must  have  regard  also 
for  the  state  of  supply  of  provisions  and  forage,  and  con 
sider  the  means  of  transporting  war  materials  to  available 
centres.  While  this  exhaustive  inquiry  was  never  com 
pleted  on  the  scale  Morris  hoped  it  might  be,  it  was 
no  fault  of  his  that  events  occurred  to  interfere  with  the 
realization  of  the  plan. 

He  still  yielded  nothing  of  his  determination  to  pay 
the  public  debts.  The  states  were  bound  to  make  pro 
vision  for  both  principal  and  interest,  he  said,  "  by  every 
principle  held  sacred  among  men."  To  fail  would  be 
"such  a  fraud  as  would  stamp  our  national  character 
with  indelible  marks  of  infamy,  and  render  us  the  re 
proach  and  contempt  of  all  mankind."  But  Mr.  Morris 
found  that  progress  now  was  not  more  rapid  than  before 
his  resignation.  He  struggled  with  his  office  a  few 
months  longer,  until  enough  money  had  been  collected 
in  taxes  to  protect  the  notes  he  had  issued  to  pay  the 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       207 

army,  but  on  August  12,  1783,  he  wrote  to  the  Paymaster 
General:  "It  becomes  impossible  to  serve  a  people  who 
convert  everything  into  a  ground  for  calumny.  .  .  . 
My  desire  to  relieve  the  army  has  been  greatly  cooled  from 
the  information  that  many  of  them  [the  soldiers]  have 
joined  in  the  reproaches  I  have  incurred  for  their  bene 
fit,  and  the  necessity  I  feel  of  quitting  (at  the  earliest 
possible  moment)  an  office  of  incessant  labor  and  anxiety, 
whose  only  reward  is  obloquy,  will  not  permit  me  even 
to  think  of  any  further  anticipations." 

Virulent  attacks  were  made  upon  all  who  discounted 
the  public  paper.  It  was  freely  charged  that  the  notes 
were  being  purchased  by  Mr.  Morris  himself  through 
agents  for  his  private  gain.  He  continued  to  write 
letters  to  the  states.  Rhode  Island,  the  smallest,  but 
always  the  least  tractable  of  them  all,  he  addressed 
through  its  governor  on  June  21,  1784:  "I  hope  your 
Excellency  will  believe  me  when  I  seriously  assure 
you  that  the  greatest  advocates  for  a  change  cannot 
more  earnestly  desire  my  dismission  than  I  myself  do. 
I  hope  that  their  sincerity  and  mine  will  speedily  be 
put  to  the  trial.  They,  by  granting  money,  and  I  by 
resigning,  can  best  evince  that  our  professions  are  founded 
in  truth.  .  .  .  Those  who  come  after  me  will,  I  hope, 
have  that  influence  which  I  have  not,  and  succeed  where 
I  have  failed.  But  whether  they  succeed,  or  whether 
they  fail,  they  cannot  more  earnestly  desire  the  good 
of  America  than  I  do." 

John  Jay,  writing  from  Europe,  urged  the  Financier 


208  ROBERT   MORRIS 

to  continue  in  his  place :  "  Your  enemies  would  be  happy 
to  drive  you  to  resign,  and,  in  my  opinion,  both  your 
interest,  and  that  of  your  country,  oppose  your  gratifying 
them.  You  have  health,  fortune,  talents,  and  fortitude, 
and  you  have  children,  too.  Each  of  these  circum 
stances  recommends  perseverance."  But  Mr.  Morris 
this  time  was  quite  immovable.  Replying  to  his  friend 
Jay,  he  wrote :  "  You  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  folly 
in  the  extreme  to  continue  in  the  drudgery  of  office 
after  you  see  clearly  that  the  public  cannot  be  bene 
fited  ;  your  own  affairs  suffering,  your  feelings  daily 
wounded,  and  your  reputation  endangered  by  the  malice 
and  misrepresentation  of  envious  and  designing  men. 
.  .  .  Congress  feared  to  dismiss  their  army  without 
some  pay;  they  had  not  money,  and  could  only  make 
payment  by  paper  anticipation,  and  even  this  could  not 
be  effected  without  my  assistance.  I  was  urged  to  con 
tinue,  and  forced  into  that  anticipation.  The  army 
was  dispersed,  and  since  their  departure  the  men  who 
urged  these  measures  most,  and  who  are  eternally  at 
war  with  honor  and  integrity,  have  been  continually 
employed  in  devising  measures  to  prevent  my  being 
able  to  fulfil  my  engagements,  in  hopes  of  effecting 
my  ruin  in  case  of  failure.  ...  I  am  persuaded  that 
sooner  or  later  the  good  sense  of  America  will  prevail, 
and  that  our  governments  will  be  intrusted  in  the  hands 
of  men  whose  principles  will  lead  them  to  do  justice, 
and  whose  understandings  will  teach  the  value  of 
national  credit.  This  may  be  too  long  in  coming  to 


BORROWING   AND   RETURNING  209 

pass,  at  least  for  me,  and  therefore  you  may  rest  assured 
that  I  quit  all  public  employ  the  moment  my  engage 
ments  are  fulfilled." 

Morris  continued  in  the  Office  of  Finance  until  No 
vember  1,  1784,  therefore  for  eighteen  months  after  his 
first  resignation  was  timed  to  take  effect.  Then  Congress 
appointed  a  "Board  of  Treasury"  to  manage  the  coun 
try's  finances.  Already  in  May  he  had  written  to  Con 
gress  begging  that  he  should  be  relieved.  "  Having  been 
informed  (though  not  officially),"  he  observes,  "  that  Con 
gress  intend  to  adjourn  in  the  beginning  of  next  month, 
I  am  humbly  to  request  that  they  would  in  such  case 
be  pleased  to  take  eventual  arrangements  for  adminis 
tering  their  finances."  In  October,  having  retired  most 

of  his  notes,  and  secured  himself  from  risk  as  best  he 

I 

could,  he  issued  a  public  announcement  that  such  paper 
as  was  still  outstanding  at  the  end  of  his  official  term 
would  be  "duly  paid  at  maturity."  For  such  payment 
he  pledged  himself  "personally  to  the  holders,"  and  on 
November  1,  he  wrote  to  the  President  of  Congress: 
"  I  have  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  your  Excellency,  and 
pray  you  will  deliver  to  the  United  States  in  Congress 
the  commission  by  which  I  was  appointed  Superintend 
ent  of  their  Finances^  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to 
reflect  that  the  situation  of  public  affairs  is  more  pros 
perous  than  when  that  commission  was  issued/  The 
sovereignty  and  independence  of  America  are  acknowl 
edged.  May  they  be  firmly  established  and  effectually 
secured.  This  can  only  be  done  by  a  just  and  vigorous 


210  ROBERT   MORRIS 

government.  That  these  states,  therefore,  may  be  soon 
and  long  united  under  such  government  is  my  ardent 
wish  and  constant  prayer." 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Morris  made  a  full  and  detailed 
report  of  the  transactions  of  his  office  covering  his  full 
term,  a  large  book  in  which  is  included  a  transcript  of 
his  accounts.  It  was  meant  to  be  and  remains  an  effectual 
response  to  those  who  had  so  long  criticised  and  maligned 
him.  It  was  preceded  by  a  kind  of  farewell  address,  not 
to  Congress,  but  "  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States 
of  America."  To  them  he  desired  to  speak  directly,  for 
"the  master,"  he  said,  "should  know  what  the  servant 
has  done."  He  therefore  rendered  an  account  of  his 
"  stewardship."  The  main  features  of  his  policy,  his 
loans,  his  "  anticipations,"  his  notes,  his  commercial  trans 
actions,  his  struggles  with  France  and  Holland,  Cuba 
and  the  states,  were  all  explained  in  terms  which  every 
man  could  understand.  "  It  is  a  misfortune,"  he  owned, 
"  that  secrecy  should  be  necessary  for  the  support  of 
public  credit.  The  officer  who  withholds  a  true  state  of 
affairs  subjects  himself  to  blame.  But  there  are  moments 
when  he  ought  to  withhold  that  state,  and  in  such  cases 
he  must  bear  the  blame  and  leave  his  justification  in  the 
hands  of  time."  Mr.  Morris  essayed  the  r6le  of  prophet, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  the  sage  made  wise  in  the  service  of 
the  state,  concluded  this  remarkable  document  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

"  The  payment  of  debts  may  indeed  be  expensive,  but 
it  is  infinitely  more  expensive  to  withhold  the  payment. 


BORROWING  AND  RETURNING       211 

The  former  is  an  expense  of  money  when  money  may 
be  commanded  to  defray  it ;  but  the  latter  involves  the 
destruction  of  that  source  from  whence  money  can  be 
derived  when  all  other  sources  fail.  That  source,  abun 
dant,  nay,  almost  inexhaustible,  is  public  credit.  The 
country  in  which  it  may  with  greatest  ease  be  established 
and  preserved  is  America,  and  America  is  the  country 
which  stands  most  in  need  of  it,  whether  we  consider 
her  moral  or  political  situation;  and  whether  we  advert 
to  her  husbandry,  commerce,  or  manufactures.  An  hun 
dred  schemes  are  attempted  for  the  introduction  of  a 
paper  currency,  which,  if  it  could  be  effected,  would  only 
produce  a  little  temporary  relief  to  a  few,  and  must  in 
volve  the  most  extensive  mischiefs  to  all ;  while  the  plain 
remedy  for  the  evils  complained  of  is  at  hand,  though 
neglected.  A  due  provision  for  the  public  debts  would 
at  once  convert  these  debts  into  a  real  medium  of  com 
merce.  The  possessors  of  certificates  would  then  become 
the  possessors  of  money.  And  of  course  there  would  be 
no  want  of  it  among  those  who,  having  property,  wish 
to  borrow  ;  provided  that  the  laws  and  administration  are 
such  as  to  compel  the  punctual  payment  of  debts.  This 
subject  would  lead  too  far  for  the  present  purpose.  But 
it  must  be  observed  that  we  are  just  emerging  from  a 
long  and  expensive  war;  a  war  more  expensive  than 
it  ought  to  have  been,  because  the  needy  can  never 
economize,  and  because  no  degree  of  talents  can  compen 
sate  the  want  of  experience.  How  soon  we  may  be 
plunged  into  another,  a  longer  or  more  expensive  contest, 


212  ROBERT   MORRIS 

is  known  only  to  Him  from  whom  no  secrets  are  hidden, 
but  it  has  enabled  us  (by  reasoning  on  past  events)  to 
conclude  that  the  only  moral  surety  for  peace  is  a  state 
of  constant  preparation  for  hostilities.  If  then  a  rupture 
should  happen  within  the  coming  year,  to  whom  are  we 
to  look  for  succor,  and  from  whom  shall  we  ask  their 
treasure  or  their  blood  ?  Shall  we  apply  to  those  veterans 
who  lately  bore  our  banners  in  triumph;  will  they  not 
show  their  scars  and  point  to  the  record  of  their  wrongs  ? 
Our  prospects  in  case  of  war  are  far  from  flattering; 
and  unless  our  Union  be  more  strongly  cemented,  they 
will  be  gloomy  indeed.  The  inhabitants  of  a  little  hamlet 
may  feel  pride  in  a  sense  of  separate  independence.  But 
if  there  be  not  one  government  which  can  draw  forth  and 
direct  the  combined  efforts  of  our  united  America,  our 
independence  is  but  a  name,  our  freedom  a  shadow,  and 
our  dignity  a  dream.  To  you,  fellow-citizens,  these  sen 
timents  are  addressed  by  one  who  has  felt  their  force. 
In  descending  from  that  eminence  on  which  your  repre 
sentatives  had  placed  him,  he  avoids  the  shafts  which 
calumny  had  aimed.  He  has  no  longer  therefore  any 
personal  interest  in  those  jealousies  and  distrusts  which 
have  embarrassed  his  administration  and  may  prove  your 
ruin.  He  no  longer  asks  for  confidence  in  himself.  But 
it  is  his  duty  to  declare  his  sincere  opinion,  that  if  you 
will  not  repose  in  the  members  of  that  general  federal 
government  which  you  yourselves  have  chosen,  that  con 
fidence  and  those  powers  which  are  necessary,  you  must 
and  you  will  (in  no  very  distant  period)  become  the 


BORROWING  AND   RETURNING  213 

dupes  of  European  politicks.  What  may  be  the  final 
event,  time  only  can  discover;  but  the  probability  is 
that  first  divided,  then  governed,  our  children  may  lament 
in  chains  the  folly  of  their  fathers.  May  Heaven  avert 
these  evils  and  endue  us  with  wisdom  so  to  act,  as  may 
best  promote  the  present  and  future  peace,  prosperity, 
and  happiness  of  our  country.  This  is  the  sincerest  wish 
of  your  faithful  servant  and  fellow-citizen, 

"  ROBERT  MOKKIS." 


CHAPTER  VI 

SENATOR  MORRIS 

"  THERE  is  a  period  in  the  progress  of  things,  a  crisis 
between  the  ardor  of  enthusiasm  and  the  authority  of 
laws,  when  much  skill  and  management  are  necessary  to 
those  who  are  charged  with  administering  the  affairs  of 
a  nation,"  Robert  Morris  wrote  to  Franklin  in  1782. 
What  Washington  experienced  of  this  on  the  battle-field, 
and  Franklin  in  the  presence  of  princes  and  foreign 
ministers  in  Europe,  Morris  suffered  in  Philadelphia  in 
directing  the  new  Republic's  finances.  He  left  his  office 
after  serving  his  country  through  the  most  difficult  time 
in  its  history,  to  return  to  private  commerce,  which  his 
enemies  incessantly  complained  that  he  had  never  aban 
doned.  The  notes  which  he  issued  were  his  personal 
notes  circulated  with  the  aid  of  John  Swan  wick,  a  man 
not  known  to  the  United  States  government,  but  a  member 
of  his  own  firm.  He  and  his  business  associates  profited, 
it  was  charged,  by  the  purchase  of  this  paper  at  a  depre 
ciated  price.  They  profited  by  the  inside  knowledge  of 
which  Mr.  Morris  became  possessed  in  sending  out  and 
receiving  cargoes  of  merchandise  and  in  foreign  ex 
change.  They  founded  the  bank  and  derived  benefits 
from  the  operations  of  that  institution,  which,  in  the 

214 


SENATOR  MORRIS  215 

eyes  of  ignorant  and  suspicious  people,  assumed  great 
proportions.  Mr.  Morris's  personal  protests,  and  appeals 
in  his  behalf  by  other  political  leaders  even  of  an 
opposite  party  view,  such  as  Mr.  Madison,  did  not  avail 
to  correct  a  notion  which  it  was  easy  in  that  intensely 
democratic  time  for  a  few  diligent  enemies  to  propagate, 
with  the  hope  of  discomfiting,  if  not  actually  crippling, 
the  Financier  in  the  execution  of  his  various  plans. 

How  largely  or  how  directly  Mr.  Morris  was  interested 
in  the  affairs  of  the  house  of  Willing  and  Morris  while 
he  was  Superintendent  of  the  United  States'  finances 
will  never  be  known.  It  is  a  discussion  which  can 
profit  us  little  in  our  present  view  of  public  office. 
We  do  not  now  expect  those  whom  we  select  to  fill 
official  positions  to  abandon  all  financial  connections  and 
business  sympathies.  It  is  enough  if  they  yield  active 
identification  with  private  business,  and  devote  their 
time  and  attention  wholly  to  government  pursuits.  This 
requirement  Morris  met  to  the  letter.  He  gave  all  he 
had  from  his  great  fund  of  skill,  energy,  private  credit, 
and  indeed  a  deal  from  his  private  fortune,  to  the  pub 
lic  service.  How  much  of  his  own  he  expended  to  send 
Washington  on  his  way  to  Yorktown  is  nowhere  recorded, 
although  we  have  his  statement,  repeatedly  made,  that  it 
was  a  large  sum.  He  was  a  subscriber  to  the  bank.  He 
advanced  money  from  his  own  purse  to  aid  needy  public 
creditors,  especially  officers  in  the  Continental  army  such 
as  General  St.  Clair.  He  yielded  bed  and  board  again 
and  again  to  General  Washington,  members  of  his  staff, 


216  ROBERT   MORRIS 

and  to  the  principal  patriots,  civil  and  military,  both 
American  and  French,  who  came  to  Philadelphia  during 
the  Revolution,  his  home  being  the  particular  seat  of 
hospitality  where  whoever  stopped  got  a  warm  welcome, 
polite  attention  in  a  family  widely  famed  for  its  genial 
ity  and  savoir  faire,  good  meat,  good  wine,  and  other 
entertainment  not  too  plentiful  at  an  unfortunate  season 
in  the  history  of  the  colonies.  In  June,  17£2,  he  loaned 
Governor  John  Dickinson  of  Delaware  £1000  from  his 
private  monies  to  enable  that  state  to  fit  out  a  schooner 
to  defend  the  river  craft  against  depredations  of  the 
enemy,  so  that  the  Delawareans  might  bring  their  prod 
uce  to  the  Philadelphia  market  and  thus  secure  specie 
with  which  to  pay  their  taxes.  He  thought  it  improper 
to  advance  public  funds  for  such  a  purpose,  and  there 
fore  drew  upon  his  own  fortune.  This  is  but  one  of 
the  many  loans  and  gifts  which  Mr.  Morris  made  from 
his  own  store.  He  quietly  and  modestly  assumed  all 
these  responsibilities  of  his  office,  well  convinced  by  ex 
perience  that  if  he  should  let  the  public  know  of  his 
generous  doings,  many  would  appear  to  accuse  him  of 
some  selfish  motive.  He  was  called  to  all  these  expen 
sive  official  and  semi-official  obligations  by  a  sense  of 
duty  and  pleasure.  He  neglected  private  trade  for 
16000  a  year,  which  was  popularly  supposed  to  be  a 
royal  salary,  but  of  which  Morris  wrote  to  Thomas  Jef 
ferson  —  that  chief  of  Democrats  —  with  some  of  the  calm 
satire  he  so  well  knew  how  to  employ :  "  A  certain  degree 
of  splendor  is  necessary  to  those  who  are  clothed  with 


SENATOR  MORRIS  217 

the  higher  offices  of  the  United  States.  I  will  venture 
to  say  that  without  it  those  officers  do  not  perform  one 
of  the  duties  which  they  owe  to  their  masters;  and  I 
can  say  also  from  experience  that  a  salary  of  $6000 
does  not  exceed  the  expense  of  that  officer.  I  speak 
for  my  successor,  or  rather  for  my  country.  Neither  the 
powers  nor  emoluments  of  the  office  have  sufficient 
charms  to  "keep  me  in  it  one  hour  after  I  can  quit  it." 

Such  a  sum  was  palpably  inadequate  to  the  office  as 
Mr.  Morris  administered  it.  It  was  his  personal  credit 
that  chiefly  made  him  valuable  above  and  beyond  other 
citizens  as  Superintendent  of  Finance,  and  a  large  factor 
in  his  as  in  all  men's  credit  is  the  confidence  that 
appearances  do  so  much  to  strengthen.  His  homes  and 
carriages,  his  sumptuous  hospitality,  his  sanguine  and  in 
flexible  temper,  which  had  contributed  to  breed  confidence 
in  his  person  in  the  first  instance,  must  be  maintained  if 
the  public  were  not  to  lose  their  faith.  The  "splendor" 
necessary  to  the  office  was  not  without  its  effect  upon 
the  representatives  of  France  stationed  in  Philadelphia, 
whose  reports  were  of  so  much  weight  in  drawing  forth 
financial  assistance  from  the  King ;  it  was  not  lost  at  home 
upon  those  who  had  money  to  lend,  —  not  even  upon  the 
warmest  patriots  in  the  colonies,  who  very  likely  would 
have  thought  Mr.  Morris  a  less  potent  Financier  if  he  had 
lived  in  a  modester  way. 

Nevertheless  it  was  a  democratic  age,  and  not  a  few 
complained  of  his  wealth  on  the  ground  that  it  was  some 
how  ill  got,  though  they  like  the  rest  no  doubt  would  have 


218  ROBERT   MORRIS 

had  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  him  as  a  Financier  if  they  had 
thought  him  a  poor  man.  It  was  the  budding  season  for 
Republics.  Hosts  of  radicals  on  the  frontiers,  and  many 
in  the  cities  wanted  some  kind  of  direct  government  with 
all  the  "  checks  and  balances "  eliminated.  Multitudes 
in  France  were  preparing  their  minds  for  1789,  and  found 
in  the  American  Revolution  a  promise  of  the  general  re 
lease  of  all  Europe  from  princely  despotism.  The  consti 
tution  of  Pennsylvania,  contrived  in  1776  by  Franklin, 
Thomas  Paine,  and  a  few  less  distinguished  political  men, 
was  the  living  example  of  a  perfect  government  in  the 
eyes  of  many  Frenchmen.  Franklin  and  Voltaire  were 
mingling  their  gray  locks  in  Paris  to  tumultuous  public 
applause.  They  were  acclaimed  as  the  precursors  of  a 
new  age  when  all  men  would  be  brothers,  each  the  equal 
of  any  other.  The  Americans,  however,  excepting  a  few, 
were  far  too  shrewd  to  give  way  to  their  sympathies  for 
an  abstract  political  right,  and  were  still  celebrating  the 
birthday  of  the  King  of  France  with  annually  recurring 
festivity.  Portraits  and  busts  of  him  and  of  his  Queen 
were  found  in  almost  every  home.  He  was  honored  and 
revered  for  his  friendly  interest  in  American  liberty,  even 
by  those  who  in  a  few  years  mentioned  his  name  with 
loathing,  burned  his  figure  in  effigy,  wore  cockades  and 
danced  about  poles  in  the  streets,  drunk  with  enthusiasm 
for  the  principles  proclaimed  by  the  French  revolutionists. 
As  Morris,  the  merchant  prince  of  Pennsylvania,  like 
Washington,  the  patrician  planter  of  Virginia,  and  Hamil 
ton,  the  deep  student  and  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the 


SENATOR   MORRIS  219 

English  system  of  government,  imbued  with  the  con 
servative  teachings  of  history,  could  feel  no  sympathy 
for  the  ideals  of  the  democrats  before  the  French  Revo 
lution,  they  could  be  expected  to  acquire  none  in  the 
course  of  later  events.  The  weak,  impracticable,  single- 
chamber  government  in  Pennsylvania  merited  distrust 
from  such  a  man  as  Morris,  and  he  antagonized  it  very 
cordially.  He  understood,  as  few  others  could,  the 
peculiar  weakness  of  all  the  state  governments  in  refer 
ence  to  the  Confederation,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
earliest  and  most  ardent  of  American  Federalists.  He 
was  not  moved  in  his  convictions  by  the  developments 
in  France  as  Franklin  was  in  his  simple-mindedness. 
Fed  at  his  age  by  the  world's  flattery  Franklin's  sympa 
thies  made  him  a  fair  mark  for  the  insidious  philosophies 
of  France.  Morris,  like  Washington,  had  accepted  French 
aid  without  thought  of  future  obligation  or  sacrifice.  It 
was  an  alliance  honorably  sought,  to  be  honorably  treated 
until  the  end  of  the  war,  and  it  meant  no  abatement  in 
any  national  ideal,  no  lingering  debt  beyond  the  loans 
of  money,  to  repay  which  no  one  had  a  tithe  of  the  prac 
tical  zeal  of  Mr.  Morris,  no  debt  that  called  us  to  take 
up  France's  cause  in  her  future  insurrections  and  foreign 
wars  to  establish  some  universal  standard  of  liberty. 

Morris  was  a  Federalist  by  ingrained  conviction.  His 
English  birth,  it  was  charged,  served  in  his  case  as  in 
Hamilton's,  to  make  him  rather  unsympathetic  with  demo 
crats.  His  wealth  and  his  foreign  business  connections,  it 
was  asserted,  also  contributed  to  his  conservatism.  What- 


220  ROBERT   MORRIS 

ever  the  element  in  his  nature  that  kept  him  out  of  al 
liance  with  enthusiastic  theorists,  it  was  his  experience, 
as  the  Financier,  which,  more  than  anything  else,  per 
suaded  him  of  the  absolute  need  of  a  strong  government. 
From  the  moment  he  discovered,  by  practical  test,  that 
the  states  would  not  contribute  monies  to  the  Con 
federation,  and  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  send 
tax-gatherers  directly  to  the  people  and  compel  them 
to  contribute  to  the  common  defence,  he  knew  that 
the  government,  established  by  the  Articles,  must  give 
way  to  a  more  vigorous  system.  Nothing  could  save  it, 
and  he  relied  upon  time  and  patriotism  to  convince  the 
people,  as  he  was  himself  convinced,  that  the  states 
should  be  more  firmly  joined.  He  was  a  Federalist  in 
his  view  of  the  nation's  duty  in  funding  the  public  debt 
and  in  the  repayment  of  the  French  and  Dutch  loans. 
To  George  Olney,  one  of  his  receivers  in  New  England, 
Mr.  Morris  wrote :  "  America  is  indebted  to  France  and 
to  subjects  of  the  United  Netherlands.  This  debt  is  of 
the  United  States,  not  of  individual  states,  nor  of  private 
citizens.  The  resort  for  payment,  therefore,  is  to  America 
collectively,  and  the  application  must  be  to  Congress  as 
the  general  representative.  The  duty  to  pay  is  absolute, 
but  the  means  can  only  be  derived  through  the  states.  If 
the  states  refuse,  have  Congress  a  right  to  compel  ?  The 
answer  to  this  question  decides  whether  we  be  one  or 
thirteen." 

"  Whether  we  be  one  or  thirteen  "  was  the  keynote  of 
Federalism,  the  demarking  line  between  Federation  and 


SENATOR  MORRIS  221 

Confederation,  between  the  German  Bundesstaat  and 
Staatenbund.  Morris's  position  in  this  contest  was  not 
open  to  any  kind  of  public  doubt.  Of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  he  very  early  in  his  administration  ob 
served,  "  The  inefficacy  of  that  instrument  is  daily  felt, 
and  the  want  of  obligatory  and  coercive  clauses  on  the 
states  will  probably  be  productive  of  the  most  fatal 
consequences." 

"  That  more  power  ought  to  be  given  to  Congress,"  he 
wrote  to  General  Greene  in  October,  1781,  "  is  evident 
now  to  many,  and  will  probably  become  soon  very  ap 
parent  to  all.  The  disobedience  of  many  states,  and 
the  partial  obedience  of  others,  discontents  every  one  of 
them  ;  and  that  will,  in  itself,  be  a  reason  for  enabling 
the  sovereign  representative  to  exact  a  compliance  with 
its  requisitions  ;  but,  as  you  justly  observe,  all  these 
things  are  in  the  womb  of  time,  which  can  alone  dis 
close  the  events  we  plague  ourselves  with  guessing  at." 
"Would  to  God,"  he  observed  in  another  letter  to  his 
friend  Greene,  "that  the  rulers  of  the  several  states 
were  as  well  convinced  as  you  are  how  necessary  it  is 
to  vest  more  powers  in  Congress."  And  again  to  George 
Olney  he  poured  out  his  fears  and  discouragements  : 
"  Where  all  is  to  end  God  knows.  But  it  seems  to  me 
that  one  of  the  first  effects  must  be  to  dissolve  the  Con 
federation.  What  will  afterward  follow,  whether  new 
and  better  bond,  or  total  and  absolute  anarchy,  time,  the 
great  arbiter  of  human  institutions,  must  determine." 

On  August  28,  1782,  he  wrote  to  Alexander  Hamilton, 


222  ROBERT   MORRIS 

"A  firm,  wise,  manly  system  of  federal  government  is 
what  I  once  wished,  what  I  now  hope  for,  what  I  dare 
not  expect,  but  what  I  will  not  despair  of." 

Such  was  the  attitude  of  this  far-seeing,  experienced 
man  of  affairs,  and  his  influence  was  of  no  little  weight 
in  giving  direction  to  subsequent  events.  He  was  no 
longer  Superintendent  of  the  United  States'  finances,  or 
the  agent  of  their  marine.  He  had  made  more  enemies 
than  any  other  single  man  in  public  life  up  to  that  time, 
because  he  had  been  intrusted  with  duties  and  had  as 
sumed  responsibilities  greater  than  any  other  officer  of 
the  government  under  the  Confederation.  He  believed 
in  individual  responsibility.  He  was  convinced  from  his 
practical  experience  in  mercantile  life,  that  to  some  one 
man  should  be  given  large  powers  in  order  that  the  public 
service  should  be  promoted,  and  he  was  the  first  Federalist 
to  pay  the  penalty  for  his  temerity.  Hamilton's  day  came 
afterward.  Washington  was  reserved  for  the  savageries 
of  the  next  decade  when  he  opposed  an  alliance  with 
France.  Jay  and  Marshall  had  not  yet  made  themselves 
a  mark  for  the  furious  hates  of  the  democrats,  and  John 
Adams,  "His  Rotundity,  the  Duke  of  Braintree,"  upon 
whom  all  the  abuse  of  the  time  was  concentrated  until 
he  was  driven  back  to  Massachusetts  and  the  last  rem 
nants  of  the  Federal  party  were  crushed  beneath  a  weight 
of  ribald  ridicule,  was  still  not  in  a  place  where  he  could 
feel  the  full  force  of  party  antagonisms. 

Morris,  after  withdrawing  from  an  office  in  administer 
ing  which  he  made  so  many  malignant  foes,  again  gave  liis 


SENATOR  MORRIS  223 

attention  actively  to  the  business  which  he  learned  as  a 
boy,  and  in  which  his  interest  never  waned.  This  was 
the  shipping  trade.  In  November,  1783,  he  wrote  to  his 
friend  John  Jay,  "I  am  sending  some  ships  to  China  in 
order  to  encourage  others  in  the  adventurous  pursuits  of 
commerce." l  These  vessels  were  well  supplied  with  guns 
for  use  in  case  of  attack.  One  of  them,  the  ^Empress  of 
China,  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  ship  ever  sent  from 
the  United  States  with  a  cargo  for  the  Orient.  "  She  has 
opened  new  objects  to  all  America,"  wrote  Mr.  Morris  to 
Jay.  "  A  mandarin  signs  a  passport  for  all  European 
ships,  directed  to  the  commander  of  two  of  the  Emperor's 
forts  on  the  river  of  Canton,  nearly  in  the  following 
words  :  4  Permit  this  barbarian  boat  to  pass.  She  has  — 
guns  and  —  men,  consequently  can  do  the  Emperor  no 
harm.'  If  the  government  of  America  could  concen 
trate  the  force  of  the  country  in  any  one  point  where 
occasion  required,  I  think  our  mandarins  might  grant 
similar  passports  to  the  rest  of  the  world." 

China  at  that  period  was  full  of  romantic  interest  for 
Americans.  The  American  Philosophical  Society,  which 
Franklin  established,  and  of  which  he  continued  to  be  the 
President  until  his  death,  even  during  his  long  absences 
abroad,  in  the  salutatory  contained  in  the  first  volume  of 
its  printed  "  Transactions,"  seriously  expressed  the  hope 
that  America  would  in  the  fulness  of  time  come  to  possess 
much  likeness  to  China  in  wealth,  industry,  and  resources. 
"Could  we  be  so  fortunate,"  said  the  Philosophical 
1  Jay's  Correspondence  and  Public  Papers,  Vol.  III.  p.  97. 


224  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Society,  "  as  to  introduce  the  industry  of  the  Chinese,  their 
arts  of  living  and  improvements  in  husbandry,  as  well  as 
their  native  plants,  America  might  in  time  become  as 
populous  as  China,  which  is  allowed  to  contain  more  inhab 
itants  than  any  other  country  of  the  same  extent  in  the 
world."  While  China's  civilization  was  a  curious  ideal 
for  the  learned  men  of  the  United  States  to  hold  before 
them,  it  was  something  of  this  same  glamour  for  unknown 
and  curious  places  which  attracted  Mr.  Morris  to  the  East. 
Still  to-day  many  echo  his  belief  that  closer  shipping  con 
nections  with  China  will  "  open  new  objects  to  all  America," 
despite  the  fact  that  the  real  achievement  there  in  more 
than  a  century  may  be  accounted  disappointingly  small. 

In  June,  1787,  Morris  despatched  the  ship  Alliance, 
equipped  with  ten  twelve-pounders  and  sixty-five  men 
from  the  Delaware  for  China.  This  was  the  first  "  out  of 
season  "  passage  ever  effected  by  any  vessel,  either  Ameri 
can  or  European.  Robert  Morris  himself,  with  the  assist 
ance  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  mapped  out  the  route  for  the 
captain  before  the  ship's  departure.  The  course  took  her 
south  of  the  Cape  of  New  Holland  in  order  to  avoid  hos 
tile  winds,  and  she  arrived  in  Canton  on  December  22. 
The  commanders  of  all  nationalities  were  greatly  surprised 
at  the  performance,  the  British  Admiralty  afterward 
making  inquiry  as  to  the  track  of  the  ship. 

The  enemies  of  the  Bank  of  North  America,  which  was 
peculiarly  Mr.  Morris's  own  creation,  had  mustered 
enough  strength  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  1785  to 
annul  the  charter  granted  it  by  the  state  government, 


SENATOR   MORRIS  225 

for  it  had  also  been  incorporated  as  a  state  institution. 
Morris,  therefore,  became  a  candidate  with  his  friends, 
Thomas  Fitzsimmons  and  George  Clymer,  for  seats  in 
the  Assembly  to  obtain  the  renewal  of  the  grant  of 
authority  to  the  financial  establishment  which  had  played 
so  notable  a  part  in  facilitating  the  pecuniary  operations 
of  the  government  during  the  war.  The  attempt  did 
not  at  first  succeed,  but  on  a  second  trial  they  were 
more  fortunate.  Although  the  bank's  doors  had  never 
closed,  the  validity  of  Congress's  grant  of  authority  was 
open  to  doubt,  and  it  was  restored  to  its  place  in  public 
confidence  under  a  state  charter  largely  because  of  Morris's 
earnest  and  persuasive  eloquence. 

In  spite  of  the  snarling  opposition  of  elements,  which 
regarded  Morris  as  an  aristocrat  with  leanings  toward  a 
system  of  government  that  would  deprive  men  of  some  of 
their  necessary  liberties,  he  excited  a  considerable  influence 
in  Pennsylvania  politics.  His  services  had  been  too  dis 
tinguished  for  any  one  to  leave  his  claims  to  consideration 
entirely  out  of  account.  Like  Washington  and  Franklin 
he  was  greater  than  all  his  enemies.  His  record  made  his 
place  secure.  His  rugged  force,  his  sound  sense,  and  his 
inflexible  determination  constituted  him  a  friend  to  be 
sought  and  a  foe  to  be  feared ;  and  as  the  failures  of  the 
Pennsylvania  state  government,  and  the  government  by 
Congress,  under  the  Articles,  became  more  and  more 
manifest,  the  people  turned  to  him  and  to  the  members  of 
his  party  for  advice,  as  to  the  way  out  of  their  multiplied 
difficulties. 

Q 


226  ROBERT   MORRIS 

A  constitutional  convention,  which  should  establish  a 
government  for  the  United  States  strong  enough  to 
enforce  popular  obedience  and  respect,  was  the  child  of 
Morris's  desire.  There  was  no  thought  of  leaving  him  out 
of  the  convention,  when  the  time  was  ripe  for  calling  it 
together.  On  December  30,  1786,  the  Pennsylvania  As 
sembly  selected  seven  citizens  to  represent  the  state  in  the 
work  of  framing  and  adopting  a  new  instrument  of  govern 
ment, —  Robert  Morris,  Thomas  Mifflin,  George  Clymer, 
Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  Jared  Ingersoll,  James  Wilson,  and 
Gouverneur  Morris.  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  had  but 
lately  returned  from  his  long  term  of  residence  in  France, 
then  President  or  Governor  of  the  state,  was  added  to  the 
delegation  on  March  28,  1787.  Morris,  by  reason  of  his 
business  training,  was  always  punctual  in  the  fulfilment  of 
engagements.  When  bodies  of  which  he  was  a  member 
had  an  appointed  meeting-time,  he  performed  his  part  well, 
and  if  no  quorum  was  in  attendance  at  the  opening  hour, 
it  was  not  through  his  personal  neglect.  The  members  of 
the  Federal  Convention  were  slow  in  putting  in  their  ap 
pearance  on  that  day  in  May,  1787,  when  they  were  invited 
to  assemble.  No  ceremony,  and  not  much  enthusiasm  or 
zeal,  marked  the  first  days  of  this  movement  to  establish 
the  American  Republic  on  more  secure  foundations.  It 
was  May  25  before  a  quorum  arrived  in  town  and  gathered 
in  the  State  House,  ready  to  transact  the  most  important 
business  which  has  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  body  of 
public  men  in  America.  On  that  day,  Pennsylvania, 
within  whose  territorial  precincts  the  convention  met,  con- 


fTBR  A  tfT1 

OF  THE 

UNIVL^SITY 

or 


SENATOR  MORRIS  227 

tributed  only  four  of  her  eight  delegates,  these  being  Rob 
ert  Morris,  Gouverneur  Morris,  Fitzsimmons,  and  Wilson. 
It  was  commonly  agreed,  long  before  the  convention  met, 
that  Washington  should  be  its  presiding  officer,  and  it  was 
also  planned  that  Dr.  Franklin  should  make  the  nominat 
ing  speech,  as  he  alone  of  all  the  members  could  be 
regarded  as  a  competitor  for  the  President's  chair.  How 
ever,  Franklin's  ills  now  bore  upon  him  heavily,  and  he 
was  prevented  from  attending  at  this  session  because  of 
the  state  of  the  weather.  Under  these  circumstances,  the 
task  seemed  naturally  to  fall  to  Robert  Morris,  both 
because  he  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  and  because  of  the  signal 
place  he  had  won  for  himself  as  a  patriot.  He  nominated 
the  late  commander  of  the  American  armies  in  behalf  of 
himself  and  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Washington  was 
elected  by  ballot,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  and  Robert  Morris 
and  John  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  walking  on  either 
side,  conducted  the  President  to  the  chair.1 

Morris,  however,  took  no  prominent  part  in  the  debates 
of  the  convention.  "The  science  of  law,"  he  declared, 
"  is  entirely  out  of  my  line."  He  was  a  man  fully  sensible 
of  his  own  limitations,  but  he  was  a  regular  attendant  at 
the  sessions,  and  his  influence  and  vote  were  always  cast 
on  the  side  of  federal  measures. 

While  his  old  assistant  and  his  dear  friend  Gouverneur 
Morris  who  voiced  his  sentiments  so  well  was  frequently 

1  "The  Papers  of  James  Madison  being  his  Correspondence  and  his 
Reports  of  Debates  in  the  Federal  Convention,"  edited  by  Henry  D. 
Gilpin,  Vol.  II.  p.  722. 


228  ROBERT  MORRIS 

a  speaker,  Madison,  in  his  report  of  the  meetings,  makes 
record  of  Robert  Morris  rising  to  his  feet  but  once  dur 
ing  the  entire  convention.  This  activity  was  evidenced 
in  connection  with  an  unimportant  matter.  The  occa 
sion  was  June  25,  when  Morris  seconded  the  motion  of 
George  Read  of  Delaware,  that  senators  of  the  United 
States  should  continue  to  hold  their  offices  "  during  good 
behavior."  If  all  the  facts  were  known,  it  would  be 
found  that  Robert  Morris  was  a  factor  of  more  conse 
quence  than  casually  appears.  His  advice  which  was 
freely  given  in  conversation  was  sound.  His  position 
caused  him  to  be  heard  with  respect  by  members  more 
familiar  with  the  law  and  more  forceful  in  public  speech. 
His  place  of  authority  in  his  own  delegation,  and  his 
friendship  with  Washington,  Hamilton,  Gouverneur 
Morris,  and  the  leading  figures  in  the  convention,  made 
his  influence  a  strong  undercurrent  in  favor  of  a  whole 
some  system  of  Federalism.  William  Pierce,  a  delegate 
from  Georgia,  wrote  of  Mr.  Morris  while  the  convention 
was  in  session :  "  He  has  an  understanding  equal  to  any 
public  object,  and  possesses  an  energy  of  mind  that  few 
men  can  boast  of.  Although  he  is  not  learned,  yet  he 
is  as  great  as  those  who  are.  I  am  told  that  when  he 
speaks  in  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  he  bears  down 
all  before  him."  A  man  who  impressed  the  other  dele 
gates  in  this  wise,  even  when  he  held  his  tongue  in  awe 
of  the  greater  wisdom  assembled  about  him,  was  not 
without  some  part,  silent  though  it  may  have  been,  in 
placing  a  personal  stamp  upon  the  Constitution. 


c 


SENATOR  MORRIS  229 

When  the  document  was  signed,  and  the  necessary 
number  of  states  had  ratified  it,  no  one  rejoiced  more 
sincerely  than  the  late  Financier  of  the  Revolution.  The 
Pennsylvania  Assembly  promptly,  in  October,  1788,  chose 
Robert  Morris  of  Philadelphia  and  William  Maclay  of 
Harrisburg  to  represent  the  state  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  The  capital  of  the  new  government  was  at  first 
located  in  New  York  City,  and  although  it  was  not  long 
in  returning  to  Philadelphia,  thither  Mr.  Morris  and 
the  other  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  must  repair  to  perform  their  first  important 
duty  which  was  to  open  and  count  the  votes  for  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  The  date 
of  meeting  of  the  new  Congress  was  fixed  for  the  first 
Monday  in  March  (March  4),  1789,  but  the  Senators 
and  Representatives  were  not  yet  in  the  city.  They  had 
inherited  some  of  the  sloth  of  the  old  government.  A 
few  had  arrived  bringing  tales  about  the  wretched  con 
dition  of  the  roads,  and  the  rivers  which  were  full  of 
floating  cakes  of  ice.  Long  detours  must  be  made  to  get 
free  of  the  dangerous  floes.  To  guarantee  arrival  at  a 
definite  place  at  a  certain  time  was  no  easy  matter  when 
the  streams  were  not  bridged,  and  when  roads  were  by 
turns  snowbanks,  bottomless  pits  of  mud,  and  again  when 
the  frosts  came  frozen  sloughs  over  which  the  heavy  stage 
wagons  bumped  their  passengers  into  semi-insensibility. 

But  if  the  truth  were  known,  the  members  had  not 
left  their  homes  in  season.  They  were  deficient  in  zeal, 
and  an  appreciation  of  the  need  of  punctuality  at  a  time 


230  ROBERT   MORRIS 

when  these  homely  virtues  were  of  some  political  moment. 
Robert  Morris,  true  to  his  own  record  on  such  occasions, 
was  present  on  the  first  meeting  day.  He  arrived  in 
New  York  at  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  March  4. 
He  wrote  home :  "  We  met  the  members  that  are  now 
in  this  city  from  the  other  states,  opened  the  two  houses 
by  entering  on  the  minutes  the  names  of  those  who  ap 
peared  and  adjourned  until  to-morrow  at  eleven  o'clock. 
There  are  only  eight  Senators  and  thirteen  Assembly 
men,  and  before  we  can  proceed  to  business,  there  must 
be  twelve  Senators  and  thirty  members  of  Assembly." 

Morris,  and  his  senatorial  colleagues  who  had  come  to 
town,  chafed  under  the  delay.  They  were  compelled  to 
wait  until  April  6,  nearly  five  weeks,  when  the  twelfth 
member,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  arrived  from  Virginia.  He 
related  that  he  had  consumed  thirty-four  days  on  his 
way  from  Baltimore,  but  with  him  in  hand,  the  Senate 
had  a  quorum  of  members.  As  the  House  had  succeeded 
in  organizing  a  few  days  before,  there  was  nothing  now  to 
prevent  Congress  from  opening  and  canvassing  the  elect 
oral  votes.  It  was  found  that  every  vote,  sixty-nine  in 
all,  had  been  cast  for  George  Washington,  who  thereby 
became  President,  while  thirty-four  were  cast  for  John 
Adams,  who,  having  received  the  second  highest  number 
of  ballots  became  Vice-President.  Messengers  were  de 
spatched  post  haste,  one  to  the  Old  Dominion  and  the 
other  to  Massachusetts,  to  apprise  the  successful  candi 
dates  of  their  election.  Massachusetts  was  not  far  away 
and  John  Adams  was  soon  brought  down  from  Braintree 


SENATOR  MORRIS  231 

to  take  his  place  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate. 
The  trip  to  Virginia  was  a  more  difficult  and  more  im 
portant  mission.  Charles  Thomson,  the  Secretary  of 
Congress,  to  whom  this  task  was  committed,  by  hard 
riding,  reached  the  Washington  plantation  in  a  week, 
and  waiting  but  a  little  while  for  the  distinguished  Presi 
dent-elect  to  make  his  final  plans  for  the  leaving,  they 
promptly  set  off  together  on  the  triumphal  journey  north 
ward,  one  of  the  most  memorable  that  ever  took  place 
on  American  soil. 

Through  laurel  arches,  among  hurrahing  crowds  of 
people,  who  lined  the  streets  and  filled  the  windows  of  the 
houses,  with  songs,  parading,  the  discharge  of  artillery, 
the  pealing  of  church  bells,  and  the  strewing  of  flowers, 
the  new  President  pursued  his  way  from  Mount  Vernon 
to  Alexandria,  to  Georgetown,  to  Baltimore,  to  Wil 
mington,  to  Philadelphia,  and  on  through  Trenton, 
Princeton,  New  Brunswick,  and  Elizabethtown  to  New 
York  City.  No  Roman  conqueror  ever  had  such  a 
triumphal  march.  Sometimes  in  his  carriage  and  some 
times  on  horseback,  at  the  head  of  a  long  line  of  troopers 
and  citizens,  he  passed  from  town  to  town,  to  found  a 
government  in  a  land  which  sadly  needed  one.  Gov 
ernors,  mayors,  aldermen,  and  the  principal  men  of 
affairs  travelled  miles  to  meet  him,  and  went  miles  with 
him  on  his  way,  to  give  him  ^safe  convoy  to  the  next 
body  of  welcoming  delegates.  Up  betimes,  like  a  good 
Virginia  husbandman,  he  was  nearly  always  in  move 
ment  a  little  after  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Yet 


232  ROBERT   MORRIS 

with  all  his  diligence,  so  tedious  were  the  methods  of 
travel  that,  leaving  Mount  Vernon  on  a  Thursday  morn 
ing,  he  was  obliged  to  spend  seven  nights  on  the  way, 
one  of  them  at  the  High  Street  home  of  Robert  Morris, 
who  had  come  on  from  New  York  to  welcome  the  Presi 
dent  to  Pennsylvania  soil.  Chaplets  falling  on  his  head 
as  he  rode  under  evergreen  arches  in  Philadelphia,  sonatas 
sung  to  him  by  fair  women  at  Trenton,  fine  dinners,  late 
suppers,  and  social  attentions  of  all  kinds  did  not  prevent 
his  final  coming  to  Elizabethtown  Point  where  an  elegant 
state  barge  awaited  him,  and  thirteen  pilots,  dressed  to 
rival  the  Venetian  gondoliers,  carried  him,  and  the  dis 
tinguished  party  of  public  men  who  accompanied  him  and 
who  had  come  out  to  greet  him,  out  the  Kill  von  Kull  and 
up  to  the  landing  stage  in  New  York.  The  boat  could 
scarcely  find  a  free  way  among  the  gayly  decorated  craft 
in  the  harbor.  Odes  were  sung  by  trained  choristers. 
Washington  could  hardly  step  ashore  for  the  crowds  of 
people  who  pressed  down  to  the  water's  brink.  The 
citizens  hurrahed,  the  ladies  at  the  windows  waved 
their  handkerchiefs  as  he  was  escorted  to  the  new  home 
which  had  just  been  hired  for  him  in  Cherry  Street. 

It  was  Morris  again  who  played  a  prominent  part  in 
the  reception  of  Lady  Washington.  She  could  not  com 
plete  her  plans  to  leave  Mount  Vernon  with  the  Presi 
dent,  and  followed  him  to  New  York  a  month  later. 
On  Thursday,  May  21,  1789,  an  express  rider  reached 
Philadelphia  with  the  news  that  Mrs.  Washington  with 
her  grandchildren  Eleanor  and  George  Washington 


SENATOR   MORRIS  233 

Parke  Custis,  on  their  way  north,  would  breakfast  at 
Chester  the  next  morning,  whereupon  two  troops  of 
Light  Horse,  the  Governor,  and  a  number  of  gentlemen 
of  prominence  in  the  city,  proceeded  ten  miles  south  to 
meet  her.  Mrs.  Morris,  who  had  not  yet  joined  the 
Senator  in  New  York,  with  several  ladies  in  carriages, 
took  their  places  in  the  cavalcade  near  Darby,  and  the 
entire  party  proceeded  to  Gray's  Gardens  where  an 
"elegant  cold  luncheon"  was  served.1  Seventy-nine 
ladies  and  gentlemen  partook  of  the  feast.  The  viands 
were  eaten  with  liberal  draughts  of  wine,  and  on  the 
bill  of  expenses  the  guests  are  charged  with  having 
drunk  ten  bottles  of  Madeira,  forty-five  bowls  of  punch, 
ten  bottles  of  American  porter,  two  bottles  of  claret,  one 
bottle  of  champagne,  one  bottle  of  Taunton  ale,  and  two 
bottles  of  crab  cider. 

Lady  Washington  and  the  children  were  conducted 
to  the  Morris  home  amid  popular  cheers,  bell  ringing, 
and  thirteen  peals  of  artillery.  They  remained  as  Mrs. 
Morris's  guests  until  the  next  morning  when  they  and 
their  hostess  all  together  set  out  for  New  York  with  an 
escort  of  horse,  where  they  arrived  on  Wednesday.  They 
were  met  at  Elizabethtown  Point  by  the  President  and 
Mr.  Morris,  crossing  to  Peck's  Slip  in  the  famous  Presi 
dential  barge  which  was  rowed  by  "thirteen  eminent 
pilots"  who  were  dressed  in  immaculate  white  uni 
forms.  Such  pomp  and  panoply  made  democrats,  who 
had  no  share  in  these  ceremonies,  deeply  furious. 
i  Pa.  Mag.  Vol.  XXIV. 


234  ROBERT   MORRIS 

No  men  could  well  be  more  different  than  were  the 
Senators  from  Pennsylvania.  Morris  was  aristocratic 
and  punctilious  as  to  social  forms.  He  was  a  strong 
Federalist,  the  coadjutor  of  those  who  concerned  them 
selves  that  the  government  should  be  established  on 
lasting  foundations.  He  was  above  the  local  attach 
ments  and  petty  prejudices,  which  made  of  others 
the  mere  representatives  of  the  small  districts  they  dwelt 
in  when  at  home.  He  had  travelled,  experienced,  and 
seen,  and  his  whole  training  and  disposition  made  him 
more  than  a  citizen  of  Philadelphia  or  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  a  citizen  of  the  new  United  States.  On  the 
other  hand,  Maclay,  who  in  the  division  of  seats  by 
lot  had  drawn  the  short  term,  was,  if  we  judge  him  by 
his  diary,  a  provincial  Scotch  frontiersman.  He  went 
to  the  Senate  to  represent  Maclayville,  which  is  now 
Harrisburg.  He  was  a  tattling,  faultfinding  person  of 
ponderous  conceit.  He  alone  was  entirely  righteous. 
He  has  been  called  the  original  democrat,  his  activity 
in  this  behalf  having  antedated  Jefferson's,  who  was 
still  in  Europe.  He  was  without  the  polish  or  reason 
ableness  of  Jefferson ;  and  while  his  criticisms  of  men 
and  measures  sprang  undoubtedly  from  innate  disre 
spect  of  strong  government  and  of  all  kinds  of  ostenta 
tion  and  form,  the  chief  impression  we  receive  of  him 
is  that  he  had  a  mean  and  censorious  mind.  Morris 
disagreed  with  him  on  almost  every  subject  which  came 
up  in  the  Senate.  He  gave  him  little  of  his  confidence, 
and  would  certainly  have  favored  him  with  still  less, 


SENATOR  MORRIS  235 

had  he  known  that  the  substance  of  each  conversation 
was  to  be  conveyed  to  the  pages  of  a  diary,  after  filter 
ing  through  an  uncharitable  brain.  Even  Philadelphia 
was  too  far  away  from  Harrisburg  for  Mr.  Maclay  to 
take  personal  interest  in  the  city,  and  the  chief  object 
of  his  striving  seems  to  have  been  to  carry  the  capital 
of  the  United  States  to  the  Susquehanna  River. 
Neither  Washington,  nor  Morris,  nor  Hamilton,  nor  any 
one,  no  matter  what  his  character,  intelligence,  or  ser 
vice,  was  spared  from  ribald  attack. 

Both  of  Pennsylvania's  senators  were  active  in  the 
discussions  of  the  first  session  of  the  Senate,  at  this 
time  a  body  scarcely  larger  than  a  committee  in  which 
members  spoke  informally  without  attempt  at  oratorical 
effect.  John  Adams,  who  sat  in  a  chair  at  one  end  of 
the  hall  to  preside  over  the  meetings,  was  the  object  of 
peculiar  suspicion  and  distrust  by  such  democrats  as 
Maclay.  He  was  accused  of  monarchical  tendencies  as 
he  ever  was  by  this  faction.  They  suspected  him  of 
ambitions  to  become  the  American  King.  "  I  have 
really  often  looked  at  him  with  surprise  mingled  with 
contempt  when  he  is  in  the  chair,  and  no  business  is 
before  the  Senate,"  writes  Maclay.  "  Instead  of  that 
sedate,  easy  air  which  I  would  have  him  possess,  he 
will  look  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other,  then  down 
on  the  knees  of  his  breeches,  then  dimple  his  visage 
with  the  most  silly  kind  of  half  smile  which  I  cannot 
well  express  in  English.  The  Scotch-Irish  have  a 
word  that  fits  it  exactly  —  smudging.  God  forgive  me 


236  ROBERT   MORRIS 

for  the  vile  thought,  but  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  a 
monkey  just  put  into  breeches,  when  I  see  him  betray 
such  evident  marks  of  self-conceit." l 

It  was  with  this  man  that  Morris  must  reckon  as  his 
colleague  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  they  were  an 
ill-assorted  couple  indeed.  At  first,  respectful  to  Morris, 
supporting  him  in  his  measures,  his  attitude  changed  to 
dislike,  and  later  to  unconcealed  mistrust.  Maclay  took 
sides  with  those  who  still  held  over  Morris  his  unsettled 
accounts,  while  chairman  of  the  Secret  Committee,  in  the 
Continental  Congress.  There  was  an  open  rupture  on 
the  capital  question,  Maclay  using  his  influence,  though 
it  must  have  been  slight,  in  favor  of  the  Susquehanna  as 
a  site  for  the  Federal  district.  Morris  was  accused  of  a 
desire  to  locate  the  seat  of  government  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Delaware,  near  Trenton,  where  he  owned  large  tracts  of 
land.  How  far  his  ambitions  led  him  in  that  direction 
was  matter  of  knowledge  chiefly  to  his  enemies,  for  he 
was  as  eloquent  a  representative  of  the  claims  of  German- 
town  as  of  the  more  northern  site.  In  a  rather  magnilo 
quent  way  he  offered  1100,000  in  the  name  of  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania,  toward  defraying  the  expense  of  erecting 
a  capitol,  if  Congress  would  fix  the  seat  of  government 
at  Germantown.  When  taken  to  task  by  his  colleague 
from  Harrisburg,  and  called  upon  to  give  his  authority 
for  so  generously  pledging  state  funds,  he  character 
istically  declared  that  if  Pennsylvania  would  not  con 
tribute  the  sum,  he  would  collect  it  himself.  He  was 
*  Journal  of  William  Maclay,  p.  30. 


SENATOR  MORRIS  237 

never  to  be  outdone  by  those  who  questioned  his  ability 
to  make  good  a  financial  promise,  and  now,  as  during 
the  Revolution,  in  public,  as  in  private  life,  his  magna 
nimity  deeply  impressed  the  popular  mind. 

It  was  well  understood  that  Morris  had  been  a  power 
ful  factor  to  make  Hamilton  the  first  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  More  than  one  account  is  at  hand  to  show 
that  President  Washington  consulted  the  eminent  Finan 
cier,  as  to  the  proper  disposition  of  this  high  post.  No 
one  understood  better  than  Morris  how  important  it  was 
that  the  Treasury  should  be  presided  over  by  a  man  of 
unquestioned  soundness  of  view.  No  one  knew  better 
than  he  the  difficulties  of  the  position,  or  the  bitter  en 
mities  which  a  businesslike  administration  of  the  office 
would  evoke.  Washington  had  selected  Morris  for  this// 
portfolio.  "  After  your  invaluable  services  as  Financier 
of  the  Revolution,  no  one  can  pretend  to  contest  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  with  you,"  he  said.1 
But  Morris  had  been  Financier  quite  long  enough,  and 
while  he  knew  that  under  the  new  Constitution,  which 
gave  the  Continent  a  definite  income,  the  chief  of  the 
Treasury  Department  would  find  that  his  lines  were  cast 
in  pleasanter  places,  he  also  knew  that  his  own  unpop 
ularity,  because  of  his  former  energetic  efforts  to  make 
the  states  pay  their  just  dues,  would  disqualify  him  for 
competently  serving  the  new  government  in  this  office. 
He  declined  the  proffered  post  on  the  ground  that  his 
private  affairs  would  prevent  such  close  attention  to  the 
1  Custis's  "  Recollections." 


238  ROBERT   MORRIS 

public  interest,  but  recommended  Alexander  Hamilton. 
While  Washington  always  sincerely  admired  and  trusted 
Hamilton,  he  had  not  been  in  so  good  a  position  as  Mor 
ris  to  observe,  and  therefore  could  not  feel  so  certain,  that 
the  young  barrister,  who  had  carried  himself  so  brilliantly 
in  the  Constitutional  Convention,  would  measure  up  to 
all  the  requirements  as  a  Financier.  But  with  Morris's 
assurances,  the  Treasury  fell  into  hands  in  whose  manage 
ment  he  knew  it  would  be  perfectly  safe.  Hamilton, 
having  always  been  Morris's  friendly  and  valued  adviser 
on  financial  questions  during  the  Revolution,  the  latter 
now  returned  the  courtesy.  He  gave  his  full  and  unre 
served  support  to  the  new  Secretary.  Together  they 
worked  out  the  funding  scheme  for  the  assumption  of 
the  state  debts,  to  carry  which  they  were  alleged  to  have 
bargained  away  the  capital.  A  sound  measure  of  finance 
was  more  to  such  minds  as  theirs  than  the  location  of  the 
seat  of  government.  It  was  first  necessary  to  have  a 
government  which  the  people  of  America  and  the  world 
at  large  could  honor  and  respect  before  it  was  a  very 
great  matter  where  its  public  buildings  should  be  situated. 
Morris  and  Hamilton  together  worked  out  a  tariff 
bill.  But  for  the  influence  of  the  Senator  from  Penn 
sylvania  the  measure,  important  because  it  would  pro 
vide  the  national  government  with  ample  revenues  and 
because  it  had  protective  features  of  utility  in  the  devel 
opment  of  the  country's  industries,  could  not  have  passed 
Congress  in  a  form  which  would  have  commended  it  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  If  the  science  of  law  was 


SENATOR   MORRIS  239 

entirely  out  of  Morris's  line,  in  business  and  finance, 
experience  had  made  him  a  past-master.  If  he  sat  in 
silence  in  the  Constitutional  Convention,  it  was  not  so 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  where  he  spoke  fre 
quently,  vigorously,  and  effectively.  In  the  progress  of 
the  debate,  on  the  tariff  he  was  constantly  alert.  He  was 
held  to  have  superior  knowledge  concerning  economic 
conditions  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  He  was  an  ex 
traordinary  authority  on  imports  and  exports.  He  had  a 
more  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  commerce  of  Penn 
sylvania  than  any  other  man  in  that  state,  and  he  was  a 
powerful  factor  in  fixing  the  rates  of  duty  in  the  first 
American  tariff  law.  During  these  debates,  Morris  was 
particularly  active  in  repelling  the  attack  of  New  Eng 
land  and  the  South  which,  while  he  was  Superintendent 
of  Finance,  had  long  charged  him  with  seeking  favors 
for  Pennsylvania  at  their  expense.  They  now  renewed 
their  accusations  but  gained  amazingly  little  by  their 
angry  arguments.  Morris,  who,  when  he  was  aroused, 
spoke  with  much  natural  fluency,  in  these  matters  spoke 
also  from  positive  knowledge.  Maclay  watched  his  col 
league  during  these  discussions  with  greater  sympathy 
than  was  his  wont.  "Mr.  Morris  spoke  with  more  vio 
lence  than  usual,"  he  once  remarks,  and  again,  as  a  New 
Englander  was  discharging  his  last  round,  Maclay,  looking 
over  at  his  fellow-Pennsylvanian,  "could  see  his  nostrils 
widen  and  his  nose  flatten  like  the  head  of  a  viper." 
Waiting  for  the  ripe  moment,  he  "clearly  and  conclu 
sively  took  his  enemies  to  task." 


240  ROBERT   MORRIS 

All  witnesses  agree  that  Robert  Morris  was  a  stupen 
dous  political  force  in  Washington's  administration,  and 
his  influence  did  not  decrease,  when,  in  December,  1790, 
the  capital  was  removed  to  Philadelphia  where  he  re 
sumed  his  princely  entertainment  of  public  men,  sur 
rendering  his  own  home  on  Market  Street  to  Washington, 
and  becoming  the  President's  most  intimate  friend  and 
closest  companion. 

Jefferson,  and  the  members  of  the  French  party,  accused 
Hamilton  and  Morris,  and  afterward  Washington  himself, 
of  every  variety  of  political  dishonesty.  "  While  our 
government  was  still  in  its  infant  state,"  writes  Jefferson, 
"  it  enabled  Hamilton  so  to  strengthen  himself  by  corrupt 
services  to  many  that  he  could  afterward  carry  his  bank 
scheme  and  every  measure  he  proposed  in  defiance  of 
all  opposition ;  in  fact  it  was  a  principal  ground  whereon 
was  reared  up  that  speculating  phalanx  in  and  out  of 
Congress  which  has  since  been  able  to  give  laws  to  change 
the  political  complexion  of  the  United  States."1 

Genet,  the  agent  of  the  French  Convention,  who  came 
to  the  United  States  to  set  the  country  aflame  for  the 
principles  of  the  Revolution,  was  triumphantly  received 
by  many  classes  of  the  people.  Encouraged  by  the  demon 
strations  of  the  populace,  the  French  Commissioner 
inaugurated  a  course  of  impudent  action  which  led  to 
his  expulsion  from  the  country.  Before  he  came  he 
was  admonished  by  his  advisers  that  he  must  place  his 
contracts  in  the  hands  of  Robert  Morris  if  he  desired 
1  Jefferson's  Writings,  Vol.  VI.  p.  174. 


SENATOR  MORRIS  241 

his  mission  to  succeed,  a  suggestion  of  infamous  dealings 
on  the  part  of  the  Senator  of  Pennsylvania,  which  at  the 
same  time  gives  a  flattering  view  of  the  power  he  is  held 
to  have  had  in  Washington's  government.  On  July  31, 
1793,  Genet  wrote  home  to  the  French  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs:  — 

\2)Tefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  appeared  to  me  in  the 
beginning  better  disposed  to  second  our  views.  He  gave 
me  some  useful  ideas  regarding  the  men  in  office,  and 
did  not  conceal  from  me  that  Senator  Morris  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Hamilton,  attached  to  the 
interests  of  England,  exerted  the  greatest  influence 
on  the  mind  of  the  President,  and  it  was  only  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  he  counteracted  their  efforts."1 
They  were  these  influences  which  soon  sent  Genet  back 
to  France  when  his  zeal  outran  the  bounds  of  public 
propriety;  these  influences,  too,  which  led  to  Jefferson's 
retirement  from  Washington's  cabinet,  to  a  cleft  of  public 
opinion  that  produced  a  strong  opposition  party,  being 
responsible  in  the  ripeness  of  time  for  the  election  of 
Jefferson  to  the  Presidency  and  the  ruin  of  the  entire 
Federalist  organization  as  a  future  force  in  American 
politics. 

As  the  time  came  for  Mr.  Morris's  term  in  the  Senate 
to  end,  he  announced  his  determination  to  withdraw  from 
public  life.  He  was  waited  upon  by  members  of  both 
houses  of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  who  assured  him 
that  he  would  receive  a  unanimous  vote  for  a  second 
1  Jefferson's  Writings,  Vol.  I.  p.  246. 


242  ROBERT   MORRIS 

term,  but  his  private  affairs  were  by  this  time  hopelessly 
involved.  In  March,  1795,  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "I 
have  taken  my  leave  of  all  public  service  and  declined 
the  offers  of  my  friends  in  the  legislature  to  reelect  me 
in  the  Senate,  because  I  am  arrived  at  the  period  of  life 
when  a  man  of  business  should  settle  his  affairs,  and 
mine  are  so  extensive  that  the  whole  of  my  time  is  requi 
site  to  that  object."  He  had  served  the  state  and  the 
nation  with  distinction  for  six  years  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  He  now  left  the  service,  and  this  was  his  last 
public  post. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HIS  ENEMIES 

FEW  men  who  reach  any  height  of  public  station  suc 
ceed  in  satisfying  every  one,  however  studiously  they  aim 
to  make  their  services  acceptable  to  the  various  elements 
which  must  be  reckoned  with  in  a  democracy.  Morris 
did  not  attempt  the  task.  His  object  was  not  popularity. 
Trimming  to  suit  the  weather  and  wind  was  not  in  his 
line,  and  early  in  his  public  career  he  made  enemies  who 
stayed  with  him  until  the  end.  He  was  a  man  of  action, 
preeminently.  His  mind  was  prolific  of  great  schemes 
in  the  working  out  of  which  he  desired  not  too  much 
public  advice.  As  a  business  man  he  was  accustomed 
to  make  his  own  decisions  promptly,  and  to  put  his  plans 
into  execution  on  his  own  initiative,  and  this  habit  clung 
to  him  in  a  peculiar  degree  as  Superintendent  of  Finance. 
In  March,  1783,  Reed  wrote  to  General  Greene,  "Mr. 
Morris  has  been  for  a  long  time  the  dominus  factotum, 
whose  dictates  none  dare  oppose,  and  from  whose  decisions 
lay  no  appeal ;  he  has,  in  fact,  exercised  the  power  really 
of  the  three  great  departments,  and  Congress  have  only 
had  to  give  their  fiat  to  his  mandates."  l  So  his  indepen 
dent  public  course  appeared  to  many  people.  Mr.  Morris 
i  Reed's  Reed,  Vol.  II.  p.  393. 
243 


244  ROBERT   MORRIS 

had  specified,  however,  before  he  took  the  Superintend- 
ency  that  he  should  have  larger  powers  than  Congress 
was  at  first  willing  to  grant.  He  had  not  sought  the 
privilege  of  financing  the  Revolution,  and  he  made  such 
terms  as  in  his  belief  would  best  conduce  to  the  perform 
ance  of  the  duties  which  were  to  be  imposed  upon  him. 
He  knew  the  futility  of  any  longer  trying  to  conduct 
the  government  and  prosecute  the  war  with  multi- headed 
boards  in  which  numbers  of  men  consumed  their  energies 
in  discussion  inside  a  committee  room,  and  he  was  the 
most  outspoken  advocate,  the  boldest  and  most  success 
ful  example,  of  another  policy  in  public  management. 

Morris  took  the  abuse  which  his  methods  and  measures 
invited  with  much  fortitude.  By  the  time  he  had  become 
Financier  experience  had  steeled  him  for  almost  any  antip 
athy.  He  was  philosophic,  and  for  the  most  part  indif 
ferent  to  attack,  although  the  virulence  of  his  enemies 
sometimes  assumed  such  forms  that  he  felt  their  stinging 
thrusts  very  keenly.  He  had  passed  through  a  season 
of  trial  early  in  the  war  as  a  committeeman  exercising 
large  powers  in  Congress.  It  was  a  time  of  unusual 
ignorance  and  astounding  bitterness.  Not  only  were 
the  Tories  eager  to  plant  fires  under  good  Whigs,  but 
the  Whig  party  itself  developed  black  characters  like 
Arthur  Lee,  renegades  like  Thomas  Paine,  whom  Franklin 
brought  to  America  in  order  to  utilize  his  sharp  quill 
which  was  soon  put  to  nasty  work  excoriating  American 
patriots,  and  the  relentless  partisans  of  General  Greene. 
There  were  besides  hosts  of  men  on  the  Pennsylvania 


HIS   ENEMIES  245 

frontiers,  in  Philadelphia  and  in  all  parts  of  the  colonies, 
who,  under  guise  of  being  democrats  and  friends  of 
man,  were  antagonized  by  Morris's  wealth,  position, 
power,  and  policies.  They  were  eager  to  find  in  him 
the  cause  of  their  poverty  and  the  general  scarcity  of 
money.  While  they  paid  no  taxes  and  gave  him  no 
revenues,  they  were  quite  certain  that  he  was  making 
himself  rich  out  of  the  public  service.  The  disorders 
in  the  currency  were  laid  at  his  door.  When  he  asked 
for  money  at  home,  he  was  told  that  he  should  seek  it 
in  France.  When  he  succeeded  in  placing  a  loan  in 
France,  he  was  blamed  because  it  was  not  larger.  He 
was  bitterly  assailed  for  failure  to  give  money  which  he 
did  not  possess  to  General  Greene,  whose  men  were 
fighting  in  their  naked  skins  on  Southern  battle-fields, 
for  not  paying  old  debts,  for  not  relieving  the  wants  and 
distresses  of  wounded  and  impoverished  Continental 
officers  and  soldiers,  and  was  held  generally  accountable 
for  financial  evils  over  which  he  had  no  particle  of  con 
trol.  For  what  reason  would  a  merchant  hold  office, 
argued  his  enemies,  if  not  to  trade  in  military  supplies, 
to  use  knowledge  gained  in  his  public  capacity  to  line 
his  own  pockets  by  discounting  government  paper,  "cor 
nering"  merchandise,  and  sending  forth  privateers?  It 
was  charged  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  had 
been  a  bankrupt,  and  that  in  a  few  years  he  had  become 
a  rich  man.  Neither  thing  is  true.  He  was  not  bank 
rupt  before  the  war,  nor  was  he  particularly  rich  when 
the  war  ended,  as  was  disclosed  by  later  events. 


246  ROBERT   MORRIS 

The  attacks  upon  Mr.  Morris  began,  as  we  have  seen, 
while  he  was  a  member  of  Congress,  intrusted  with 
large  powers  respecting  the  navy  and  the  secret  service. 
Considerable  sums  of  money  then  passed  through  his 
hands.  He  was  concerned  in  large  contracts  both  for 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Continent,  and  through 
his  partisan  activity  in  Pennsylvania  politics  he  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  the  ill-will  of  many  small  men.  They 
attacked  him  mercilessly  as  an  engrosser,  but  Morris 
went  on  his  way  undisturbed  by  such  outbursts.  He 
pitied  ignorance  and  hated  wicked  hearts,  but  his  usual 
response  was  an  appearance  of  indifference.  The  ugly 
word  stung  for  a  moment,  but  it  did  not  rankle  in  his 
memory.  No  criticism  turned  him  from  his  way  once  he 
had  made  certain  that  he  was  on  the  right  course.  There 
is  a  supercilious  note  in  this  letter  to  a  friend  in  Decem 
ber,  1780,  which  illustrates  the  spirit  that  supported  him 
while  under  fire:  "After  serving  my  country  in  various 
public  stations  for  upwards  of  four  years,  my  routine 
in  Congress  was  finished,  and  no  sooner  was  I  out  than 
envious  and  malicious  men  began  to  attack  my  character. 
But  my  services  were  so  universally  known  and  my 
integrity  so  clearly  proved,  I  have,  thank  God,  been  able 
to  look  down  with  contempt  on  those  that  have  en 
deavored  to  injure  me." 

Taking  counsel  of  experience,  Mr.  Morris,  when  he 
became  Superintendent  of  Finance,  insisted  that  his 
accounts  should  be  regularly  inspected  by  a  committee 
of  Congress.  He  made  the  same  request  respecting  the 


HIS   ENEMIES  247 

Agency  of  Marine,  and,  upon  resigning  his  offices  in  1784, 
he  presented  an  itemized  report  of  his  transactions,  which 
by  its  fulness  was  always  a  complete  refutation  of 
charges  affecting  his  administration  during  that  period. 
On  June  12,  1782,  he  writes  in  his  Diary :  "On  coming 
to  the  office  I  found  the  Honorable  Mr.  Madison,  and 
gave  him  my  opinion  in  favor  of  having  committees 
appointed  twice  a  year  to  examine  into  the  management 
of  this  and  other  great  offices,  as  nothing  will  be  done 
more  agreeable  to  me  than  to  lay  the  whole  of  my  pro 
ceedings  and  management  before  Congress  as  frequently 
as  it  is  practicable,  from  a  conviction  that  the  more  they 
know  of  my  proceedings  the  more  they  will  be  con 
vinced  of  my  constant  desire  and  exertions  to  promote 
the  honor  and  interest  of  the  United  States." 

The  accounts  of  both  the  Finance  and  Marine  offices 
were  rather  regularly,  if  at  times  perfunctorily,  investi 
gated.  Mr.  Morris  gave  the  committeemen  access  to  his 
books  very  cheerfully.  The  most  zealous  members  of 
the  committee  were  oftentimes  his  personal  enemies. 
They  were  frequently  offensive  and  open  in  their  hos 
tility  to  him.  Such  men  as  Lee  came  to  the  office 
to  examine  the  books  again  and  again  when  other  mem 
bers  did  not  appear,  and  when  therefore  no  business 
could  be  transacted.  On  these  occasions  the  Financier 
entertained  him  with  pleasant  conversation,  although  he 
well  knew  the  animus-  of  the  visits.  To  Lee's  dogging 
pursuit,  when  it  at  last  had  become  no  longer  mortally 
tolerable,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  in  October,  1783,  respecting 


248  ROBERT   MORRIS 

a  point  in  dispute,  "I  take  the  liberty  to  suggest  that 
the  Superintendent  of  Finance  has  no  official  knowledge 
of  the  private  concerns  of  Mr.  Robert  Morris,  and  there 
fore  cannot  furnish  information  to  the  committee." 

The  Financier  encountered  much  bitter  enmity  in  the 
later  years  of  his  administration  from  the  partisans  of 
General  Greene,  who  commanded  the  regiments  sent 
south  to  protect  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  from  the 
English  army,  which  was  landed  there  to  lay  waste  to 
those  provinces.  The  struggle  to  stir  up  strife  between 
Morris  and  Greene,  who  were  the  warmest  personal 
friends  of  many  years'  standing,  was  of  astonishing 
warmth.  Newspaper  writers  and  pamphleteers  worked 
industriously  to  promote  this  fruitless  discussion.  The 
sufferings  of  the  Southern  soldiers  were  very  great.  All 
the  generals  were  sorely  pressed  for  supplies  for  their 
troops,  but  it  is  undeniable  that  Greene's  regiments 
were  in  a  more  pitiable  condition  than  the  rest.  They 
actually  lacked  clothing  to  cover  their  backs  and  for 
food  were  compelled  to  ravage  the  country.  Morris 
would  not  honor  Greene's  drafts  —  he  could  honor  no 
man's  drafts  —  and  it  was  alleged  had  sent  a  secret 
agent  to  the  South  with  instructions  to  give  the  General 
money,  but  only  in  case  of  the  direst  necessity.  This 
agent  was  fancifully  pictured  as  a  mysterious  guardian 
angel  who  came  to  succor  when  the  night  was  blackest.1 
Back  of  this  romance  was  a  feeling,  however,  that  Morris 
would  not  trust  Greene.  He  therefore  had  despatched 
1  Fisher's  "  Revolutionary  Reminiscences." 


HIS   ENEMIES  249 

a  spy  to  watch  over  the  General's  movements  and  give 
him  small  sums  from  time  to  time  when  other  resources 
failed,  as  a  father  would  a  prodigal  son.  The  truth 
about  the  whole  unpleasant  dispute  is  that  the  secret 
agent  was  no  other  person  than  George  Abbott  Hall, 
the  receiver  of  Continental  taxes  for  South  Carolina. 
He  carried  some  money  with  him  from  Philadelphia  to 
buy  indigo,  rice,  and  skins,  and  was  authorized  to  give 
financial  assistance  to  Greene  when  it  was  necessary. 
There  was  little  enough  money  for  Washington's  army 
or  for  any  public  purpose,  and  Morris  was  obliged  to 
husband  his  meagre  resources,  bestowing  only  where  and 
when  he  must.  Hall,  instead  of  having  money  to  dis 
tribute,  was  himself  drawn  upon  by  Mr.  Morris  in  press 
ing  emergencies.  General  Greene  knew  the  unhappy 
facts  and  retained  his  confidence  in  the  Superintendent 
of  Finance  throughout  this  acrimonious  public  discussion 
which  raged  at  furious  heat  between  the  partisans  of 
the  two  men. 

But  Morris  was  dishonest  because  he  was  rich  and 
because  he  continued  in  private  business,  his  enemies 
concluded,  and  many  times  he  was  compelled  to  make 
statements  in  denial  of  these  prodding  charges.  On 
May  1,  1782,  he  wrote  that  he  had  "  totally  quitted  com 
merce  and  commercial  projects.  By  accepting  the 
office  I  now  hold,"  he  added,  "  I  was  obliged  to  neglect 
my  own  private  affairs.  I  have  made  no  speculation  in 
consequence  of  my  office,  and  instead  of  being  enriched 
I  am  poorer  this  day  than  I  was  a  year  ago."  Again 


250  EGBERT   MORRIS 

he  wrote,  "I  have  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  dis 
card  all  attention  to  private  business,  and  I  have  put  it 
into  other  hands." 

Of  a  peculiarly  sanguine  temperament  and  unfailing 
self-possession,  his  foes  seldom  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  him  writhe  as  they  hurled  their  javelins  at  him 
from  all  sides.  To  the  Virginians  who  bitterly  reviled 
him  for  administering  his  office  for  the  particular 
advantage  of  Pennsylvania,  drawing  their  currency  away 
from  them  that  it  might  be  more  abundant  in  Philadel 
phia,  he  wrote  on  June  4,  1782 :  — 

"  I  am  very  indifferent  to  the  intended  attacks  on 
my  measures.  If  those  ingenious  gentlemen  can  point 
out  such  as  are  more  eligible  to  the  public  good,  I  am 
ready  to  pursue  them  or  to  give  the  opportunity  of 
doing  it  to  themselves,  provided  they  can  prevail  on 
America  to  trust  them  with  my  office  which  I  wish 
were  placed  in  any  other  safe  hands." 

To  Mr.  Comfort  Sands,  Morris  wrote  in  1782 :  — 

"  As  to  what  you  tell  me  of  reports  circulating  to 
my  prejudice,  depend  on  it,  they  give  me  no  kind  of 
concern.  All  my  transactions  are  open,  and  I  expect 
to  give  my  country  the  pleasure  of  seeing  that  the 
expenditures  are  far  more  moderate  than  they  have 
reason  to  expect.  In  the  meantime  any  abuse  or  mis 
representation  which  particular  persons  may  indulge 
themselves  in,  I  consider  as  the  necessary  trappings  of 
office,  and  if  they  can  obtain  forgiveness  from  their 
country,  they  will  always  have  mine  most  freely." 


HIS   ENEMIES  251 

To  Colonel  Tilghman  he  continued  observations, 
born  of  the  same  mood :  "  I  am  not  much  concerned 
about  the  opinions  of  such  men,  while  I  have  in  my 
favor  the  voice  of  the  wise  and  the  good,  added  to  the 
fair  testimony  of  an  approving  conscience." 

To  the  governors  of  the  various  states,  in  July,  1783, 
in  alluding  to  the  purposes  and  motives  of  those  who 
opposed  his  measures,  Mr.  Morris  wrote :  "  I  might  also 
appeal  to  the  clamors  against  me  for  opposing  claims  I 
could  not  properly  comply  with.  Long  have  I  been 
the  object  of  enmities  derived  from  that  origin.  I  have 
therefore  the  right  to  consider  such  clamors,  and  such 
enmities  as  the  confession  and  the  evidence  of  my  care 
and  attentions." 

At  other  times,  Mr.  Morris  assumed  the  role  of  a 
public  adviser.  "Let  it  be  remembered,"  he  remarks, 
"  that  the  country  which  will  not  support  faithful  ser 
vants  can  never  be  faithfully  served."  Again  he  wrote 
to  a  fellow-sufferer,  Ezekiel  Cornell :  "  I  am  not  ignorant 
that  many  people  employ  themselves  in  defaming  men 
whom  they  do  not  know  and  measures  which  they  do  not 
understand.  To  such  illiberal  characters,  and  to  all  which 
they  can  write  or  speak,  the  best  answer  is  to  act  well." 

But  under  some  particularly  vicious  attacks  Morris 
was  far  less  equable.  He  lost  his  temper,  and,  while  he 
did  not  engage  in  public  discussions  to  prove  his  hon 
esty,  he  poured  out  his  soul  in  his  Diary.  A  Mr. 
Pierce  called  at  the  Office  of  Finance  to  say  that  some 
officers  of  the  Pennsylvania  line  were  publicly  declar- 


252  ROBERT   MORRIS 

ing  that  they  had  been  paid  in  notes,  which  were  not 
of  face  value.  The  Superintendent,  according  to  the 
allegation,  had  directed  a  broker  to  buy  up  the  paper 
as  soon  as  the  necessities  of  the  soldiers  required  them 
to  part  with  it,  and  by  this  process  $30,000  had  been 
gained  by  the  United  States,  or  by  persons  privy  to 
the  transaction.  Upon  hearing  this  report,  Mr.  Morris 
wrote  in  his  Diary:  "I  requested  him  [Pierce]  to  wait 
on  those  officers,  and  urge  them  to  search  into  the 
bottom  of  any  information  they  had  on  that  subject, 
and  pursue  every  trace  they  could  find  leading  to  such 
transactions  in  order  that  they  may  prove  my  guilt  or 
innocence,  and  I  promised  that  if  I  ever  did  buy  one 
single  note  either  for  public  or  private  account,  either 
directly  or  indirectly  by  myself  or  by  means  of  others, 
I  will  agree  to  sacrifice  everything  that  is  dear  and 
valuable  to  man.  Never  was  a  more  malignant  and 
false  slander  invented." 

Morris  was  again  touched  to  the  quick  on  March  17, 
1783.  He  writes  on  that  date  in  his  Diary:  "This  day 
appeared  a  virulent  attack  on  my  public  and  private 
character,  signed  4  Lucius,'  in  the  Freeman's  Journal,  re 
plete  with  the  most  infamous  falsehoods  and  assertions 
without  the  least  shadow  of  truth  to  support  them  and 
insinuations  as  base  and  infamous  as  envy  and  malig 
nancy  could  suggest.  I  think  I  know  the  author,  and 
if  my  conjecture  is  right,  he  is  of  that  baneful  character 
which  brings  dishonor  to  those  whom  he  means  to  be 
friend  and  the  reverse  to  whom  he  opposes." 


HIS   ENEMIES  253 

The  cause  of  this  outburst  was  amply  provoking.  The 
attack,  which  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  letter  "  To  Robert 
Morris,  Esq.,"  was  instigated  by  the  Financier's  abrupt 
communication  to  Congress  tendering  his  resignation.  He 
was  reminded  that  when  he  assumed  office,  he  expressly 
stipulated  that  he  should  have  no  concern  with  the  old 
debts  of  the  Continent.  "  That  your  sovereign  will 
should  be  received  as  law,"  wrote  Lucius,  "  that  submis 
sion  to  your  absolute  dictation  should  be  the  only  rule  of 
government,  are  manifestly  your  sentiments,  so  much  has 
a  sudden  and  enormous  acquisition  of  wealth,  by  specu 
lating  on  the  distresses  of  the  war,  pampered  your  pride 
and  inebriated  your  understanding.  .  .  .  Perhaps  it  will 
be  found  that  all  this  boast  of  honesty  and  patriotism  is 
prompted  solely  by  the  interest  you  and  your  friends  have 
in  these  certificates,  not  as  original  possessors,  but  as 
purchasers  from  the  distressed  possessors  at  an  immense 
depreciation." 

A  few  days  later  this  savage  writer  returned  to  the 
attack  in  language  still  more  bitter.  Then  he  said : 
"Your  letter  contains  little  else  but  insolent  ostentation 
of  your  own  importance.  You  produce  yourself  as  the 
Atlas  on  which  the  United  States  entirely  rest.  Your 
time,  property,  and  domestic  bliss  are  all  sacrificed  to 
the  salvation  of  the  public.  Is,  then,  the  mere  superin 
tendence  of  our  finances  with  an  assistant  and  a  legion 
of  clerks,  at  ten  paces  from  your  family,  so  mighty  a 
sacrifice  of  time  —  is  daily  rioting  in  Asiatic  luxury  at 
festive  boards  so  fatal  to  domestic  bliss  —  are  $ 8000  a  year 


254  ROBERT   MORRIS 

for  your  salary  —  is  the  full  enjoyment  of  your  mercantile 
connections  with  the  immense  advantages  over  all  other 
merchants  which  your  office  gives  to  you  and  your  part 
ners,  such  puny  emoluments  as  to  render  the  possession 
of  them  so  glaring  a  sacrifice  of  your  property?  Is  the 
absolute  direction  of  the  finances  of  America  and  of  its 
marine ;  is  the  sovereign  control  over  the  multitudes  em 
ployed  in  these  departments ;  is  the  immediate  patronage 
of  the  most  lucrative  appointments  in  the  United  States 
to  the  amount  of  850,000  a  year  so  poor  a  reward  for 
your  financiering  abilities? — abilities  so  transcendent  that 
in  one  year  they  have  reduced  us  to  irrecoverable  distress. 
In  fine,  Sir,  is  not  the  disbursement  of  eight  millions 
annually  in  contracts,  etc. ;  is  not  the  profit  and  influence 
arising  from  this ;  is  not  the  hourly  offering  of  incense 
and  adulation  from  surrounding  parasites  ;  is  not  the  push 
ing  of  your  superlative  abilities  and  merits  by  pensioned 
dependents  through  -all  the  states,  sufficient  to  satiate 
your  vanity,  pride,  and  avarice  ?  Of  all  these  we  see  you 
are  possessed ;  let  us  at  least  know  how  you  have  deserved 
them.  Numbers  are  serving  their  country  in  the  cabinet 
and  in  the  field,  remote  from  their  country,  their  family, 
and  their  affairs,  without  patronage,  without  emolument, 
without  influence,  upon  pay  which  would  hardly  purchase 
the  crumbs  which  fall  from  your  luxurious  table,  and  yet 
we  do  not  hear  from  them,  the  vainglorious  winnings  of 
their  sacrifices  and  sufferings.  And  is  it  for  you  wallow 
ing  in  wealth,  rioting  in  voluptuousness,  gorged  with 
honors,  profits,  patronage,  and  emoluments,  is  it  for  you  in 


HIS   ENEMIES  255 

the  bosom  of  your  family,  your  friends,  and  your  affairs  — 
is  it  for  you  to  insult  the  public  with  your  sacrifices  of 
time,  property,  and  domestic  bliss  ?  " 

But  "  Lucius  "  was  a  more  gentlemanly  scribbler  than 
"  Centinel,"  the  anonymous  author  of  abusive  articles 
in  which  Mr.  Morris  was  assailed  in  1788,  while  the  con 
test  over  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  was 
at  its  height.  A  more  blackguardly  controversialist 
never  put  pen  to  paper.  Then  Morris  was  called  "  Bobby 
the  Cofferer"  and  still  more  plainly  a  "public  defaulter.'* 
He  was  branded  as  "a  man  without  principles,"  and  he 
was  called  upon  to  "disgorge  public  treasure."  It  was 
charged  that  he  had  made  no  final  settlement  of  his  ac 
counts  with  the  United  States  government,  and  the 
most  slanderous  accusations  were  openly  made  in  the 
most  exasperating  terms.  Morris,  at  the  time  these  papers 
were  published,  was  travelling  in  the  South,  inspecting 
large  tracts  of  land  for  the  purchase  of  which  he  was  com 
pleting  negotiations.  He  was  accompanied  by  Gouverneur 
Morris.  In  Virginia  he  had  been  the  guest  of  General 
Washington.  The  Constitution  was  before  the  people  for 
their  consideration  and  ratification.  His  friends,  Hamilton 
and  Jay,  were  writing  the  "  Federalist "  papers,  those 
eloquent  arguments  in  defence  and  elucidation  of  the  new 
form  of  government.  Morris  cared  less  for  himself  than  for 
the  fate  of  the  Constitution,  and,  violating  his  rule  not  to 
make  public  reply  to  those  who  attacked  his  policies  in  the 
newspapers,  he  gave  "  Centinel "  a  verbal  settlement  of  the 
character  his  method  and  manner  abundantly  invited. 


256  ROBERT  MORRIS 

As  chairman  of  the  committees  of  Congress  and  as 
Superintendent  of  Finance,  Mr.  Morris  declared  that  he 
had  not  touched  one  shilling  of  the  public  money.  In  the 
last-named  office  he  had  no  accounts  to  settle.  He  had 
never  personally  received  any  public  money,  therefore 
none  could  be  in  his  hands.  The  receipts  of  the  govern 
ment  were  regularly  published  in  the  newspapers.  The 
accounts  of  his  expenditures  were  constantly  open  to 
public  inspection  at  the  Treasury  Office.  His  transac 
tions  were  under  the  surveillance  of  Congress.  He 
admitted  the  truth  of  the  charge  that  he  had  not  rendered 
any  final  account  of  his  operations  while  chairman  of  the 
committees  of  Congress  early  in  the  war.  He  had  im 
ported  arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing  for  the  Continental 
army.  For  various  reasons  settlement  had  been  de 
layed,  and  he  observed  once  more  that  his  own  solicitude 
was  not  so  great  as  it  otherwise  would  be  were  he  not 
well  convinced  that  a  balance  was  due  him  rather  than 
the  United  States  government.  In  explanation  of  his 
public  response  to  this  attack  Mr.  Morris  wrote  in  his 
Diary :  "  A  newspaper  is  certainly  an  improper  place  for 
stating  and  settling  public  accounts,  especially  those 
which  are  already  before  the  proper  tribunal.  But  I 
thought  it  in  some  sort  a  duty  to  take  notice  of  charges 
which,  if  not  controverted,  might  have  influenced  weak 
minds  to  oppose  the  Constitution.  This  was  at  least 
the  ostensible  reason  for  bringing  me  forward  on  the 
present  occasion.  With  what  decency  or  propriety  it  has 
been  done  I  leave  to  the  reflection  of  the  authors.  Their 


HIS   ENEMIES  257 

exultation  on  my  losses  and  crosses  is  characteristic.  To 
every  pleasure  which  can  arise  from  the  gratification  of 
such  passions  they  are  heartily  welcome,  and  the  more 
so,  as  I  hope  and  expect  the  enjoyment  will  be  of  short 
duration." 

It  was  a  tactical  error  on  Mr.  Morris's  part  that  he 
did  not  seize  an  early  occasion  to  settle  the  accounts  of 
transactions  ten  or  twelve  years  old  and  silence  the  voice 
of  scandal.  It  should  have  been  an  easy  matter  to 
discomfit  his  enemies,  who  were  busy  in  every  political 
campaign  circulating  these  disagreeable  charges  against 
him.  His  maligners  were  without  a  leg  to  stand  on  when 
they  assailed  the  other  periods  of  his  political  career. 
Here  were  a  few  years  when  Morris,  by  his  experience 
as  a  merchant  and  shipmaster,  performed  services  of 
incalculable  value  to  the  country  concerning  which  the 
public  was  left  in  statistical  darkness.  The  distrust  and 
suspicion  of  his  activity  at  this  time,  which  were  so  freely 
expressed  by  his  enemies,  continued  to  be  the  basis  of 
charges  throughout  his  term  as  Senator.  His  censorious 
colleague,  Maclay,  lost  no  chance  to  deal  him  a  thrust 
about  his  unsettled  accounts,  and  the  diary  of  the  Senator 
from  Harrisburg  teems  with  allusions  to  this  subject  as 
though  it  were  a  national  disgrace.  "  Mr.  Morris,  this 
day,  as  he  sat  beside  me  in  our  places  in  the  Senate," 
writes  Maclay,  "  whispered  to  me  that  he  would  not  be  as 
regular  in  his  attendance  as  he  used  to  be ;  that  he  was 
occupied  in  settling  his  public  accounts,  which  would 
engage  him  for  a  great  part  of  his  time.  I  remarked, 


258  ROBERT  MORRIS 

4  That  cannot  be  helped.'  The  business  is  a  necessary 
one."  Again  Morris  told  Maclay  that  he  found  Hamilton 
"damned  sharp."  But  the  eavesdroppings  of  such  a 
diarist  will  not  count  very  heavily  against  Mr.  Morris, 
who  is  treated  more  charitably  than  most  other  men  whom 
Maclay  came  to  know  while  he  attended  the  sessions  of 
the  first  Congress. 

In  February,  1790,  Morris  addressed  a  memorial  to  the 
Vice-Preside nt  of  the  United  States,  praying  that  com 
missioners  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  his  conduct  of 
the  Continent's  financial  affairs,  and  after  a  fresh  series 
of  inquiries  and  investigations,  as  the  Pennsylvania  patriot 
gradually  lost  his  prominent  place  in  politics  and  became 
involved  in  private  difficulties  and  embarrassments  which 
called  for  sympathy  and  not  for  blame,  the  unhappy 
discussion  was  allowed  to  subside. 

Morris  shared  with  Hamilton  the  opprobrium  which 
pursued  the  members  of  that  political  group  in  New  York 
who  had  been  parties  to  the  bargain  to  remove  the  capital. 
After  the  dignity  had  been  enjoyed  for  ten  years  by 
Mr.  Morris's  city,  the  prize  would  go  to  the  South  in 
perpetuity.  The  success  of  this  measure  was  the  signal 
for  a  renewal  of  much  disagreeable  abuse.  Morris, 
always  known  as  "  Bob  "  and  "  Bobby,"  was  now  again 
called  "  Bobby  the  Treasurer  "  and  "  Bobby  the  Cofferer," 
and  he  was  represented  in  current  illustrated  prints  with 
the  Federal  Hall  on  his  shoulders.  Members  of  Congress 
cursed  or  encouraged  him  from  the  windows  as  he  carried 
it  to  the  wharf  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  while  a  horned 


HIS   ENEMIES  259 

devil  from  the  roof  of  the  ferry  house  shouted  out, 
"This  way,  Bobby!" 

James  Madison  was  not  of  Mr.  Morris's  political  faith, 
but  while  in  Congress  in  1782  he  wrote  to  Edmund 
Randolph :  "  My  charity,  I  own,  cannot  invent  an  excuse 
for  the  prepense  malice  with  which  the  character  and 
services  of  this  gentleman  are  murdered.  I  am  persuaded 
that  he  accepted  his  offices  from  motives  which  were 
honorable  and  patriotic.  I  have  seen  no  proof  of  mis 
feasance.  I  have  heard  of  many  charges  which  were  palpa 
bly  erroneous.  I  have  known  others  somewhat  suspicious 
vanish  on  examination.  Every  member  in  Congress  must 
be  sensible  of  the  benefit  which  has  accrued  to  the 
public  from  his  administration ;  no  intelligent  man  out 
of  Congress  can  be  altogether  insensible  of  it."1 

While  such  attacks  annoyed  Mr.  Morris, — indeed,  mad 
dened  him  at  times  beyond  measure,  —  he  rose  above  the 
pettiness  of  political  controversy.  His  mind  did  not 
run  in  narrow  grooves.  He  did  not  dwell  with  small 
spirits,  and  what  they  meant  to  be  sword  thrusts  were 
mere  pin  pricks  to  this  Brobdingnagian  character. 

One  of  the  most  roundly  abused  men  of  the  time,  he, 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  had  no  enemies.  Against 
no  man  in  the  world  did  he  harbor  a  grudge.  Few  had 
shown  an  uglier  disposition,  or  had  done  him  more 
mean  services  than  Thomas  Paine,  and  yet,  after  he 
became  Superintendent  of  Finance,  he  employed  that 
man  at  1800  a  year  to  write  articles  for  the  newspapers 
1  Madison's  Papers,  Vol.  I.  p.  137. 


260  ROBERT  MORRIS 

in  the  interest  of  the  American  government.  Helpless 
and  in  poverty,  Paine  begged  for  a  place  to  keep  bread 
in  his  mouth,  and  Mr.  Morris  returned  good  for  evil 
with  a  cheerful  heart.  He  was  one  of  the  most  chari 
table  and  forgiving  of  men,  and  those  who  sought  to  in 
volve  him  in  private  quarrels  found  his  stature  too  great 
for  equal  combat.  They  loaded  their  weapons  in  the 
dark  copse,  and,  after  discharging  them,  slunk  away  again 
into  the  night. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS 

ROBERT  MORRIS  was  almost  thirty-five  years  old  when 
he  married  Molly  White.  She  was  only  twenty,  but, 
by  character  and  training,  well  adapted  to  take  that 
social  place  which  her  husband's  wealth,  political  posi 
tion,  and  native  hospitality  assigned  to  her.  She  felt 
deep  pride  in  Mr.  Morris's  successes.  A  true  gentle 
woman,  she  was  one  of  the  most  attractive  figures  among 
Philadelphia's  Revolutionary  dames.  Her  letters  to  her 
mamma  and  her  dearly  loved  brother  "Billy,"  who  later 
became  the  first  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Penn 
sylvania,  evince  an  affectionate  family  feeling  which 
give  us  much  insight  into  the  upbringing  of  the  girl.  She 
also  had  three  step-sisters,  one  of  whom,  Sophia,  married 
and  became  a  Mrs.  Hall,  residing  at  Sophia's  Dairy  in 
Harford  County,  Maryland.  Thither  it  was  that  Mrs. 
Morris  and  her  children  went  in  1776,  when  the  British 
army  threatened  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Morris  being  obliged 
to  remain  behind  to  represent  Congress  in  the  city,  since 
that  body  had  also  fled  to  a  place  of  safety.  Her  father 
and  mother  had  preceded  her  to  Maryland,  and  the  family 
spent  the  winter  together.  Mrs.  Morris's  anxieties  for 
her  husband,  and  for  the  security  of  her  city  and  coun- 

261 


262  ROBERT   MORRIS 

try  homes,  were  constant,  and  she  wrote  to  him  very 
often  until,  in  March,  1777,  she  returned  with  her  chil 
dren  to  Philadelphia,  the  immediate  danger  of  British 
occupation  seeming  to  have  passed.  Upon  reaching  the 
city  again,  she  wrote  to  her  mamma:  "Last  Wednesday 
noon  I  had  the  pleasure  to  arrive  safe  in  dear  Philadel 
phia  after  a  much  pleasanter  journey  than  I  expected 
from  our  setting  off,  and  it  made  me  very  happy  to  find 
myself  at  home  after  so  long  an  absence  with  the  terri 
ble  apprehensions  we  fled  with,  of  never  seeing  it  again ; " 
and  she  added,  "duty  to  my  father,  and  love  to  sister 
and  Mr.  Hall,  and  all  the  hospitable  family  whose  kind 
ness  to  me  and  my  exiled  family  I  shall  never  forget."  1 

In  1779,  after  the  death  of  her  father  who  had  long 
been  an  invalid  as  the  result  of  a  fall  from  a  carriage,  his 
injuries  compelling  him  to  depend  upon  canes,  her  mamma 
wrote  to  her  out  of  a  mother's  heart,  "  May  you  have  all 
the  blessings  this  world  can  bestow,  and  when  it  has  an 
end,  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  more  than  it  is 
capable  of  giving  is  the  prayer  of  your  affectionate, 
E.  White." 

A  people  of  marked  family  attachments  and  religious 
faith,  the  influence  of  the  Whites  was  of  much  value  to 
the  big-hearted  Robert  Morris.  Motherless  and  father 
less  and  left  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  which 
had  already  drawn  him  into  bold  commercial  operations, 
he  felt  the  need  of  domestic  associations,  and  developed 
into  a  faithful  husband  and  devoted  parent,  who  loved 
i  Hart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.11. 


HIS   FAMILY   AND    HIS   FRIENDS  263 

and  was  beloved  very  deeply.  In  prosperity  and  unex 
pected  adversity,  his  wife  and  children  were  his  first 
thought,  while  they  to  the  end  idolized  him,  returning 
all  the  warmth  of  feeling  of  his  great  heart.  If  there 
were  no  other  reason  why  his  own  and  later  generations 
should  honor  Robert  Morris,  it  would  be  found  in  his 
peculiar  loyalty  and  goodness  to  his  family. 

Mr.  Morris  had  seven  children,  five  sons  and  two 
daughters,  —  Robert,  Thomas,  William  White,  Hetty, 
Charles,  Maria,  and  Henry.  It  was  his  desire  that  they 
should  enjoy  all  the  advantages  of  education  which  the 
times  afforded.  He  followed  their  advancement  with 
the  interest  of  a  proud  father.  Having  gained  his  own 
knowledge  by  hard  knocks  in  the  world  about  him,  he 
wished  to  smooth  the  way  for  his  sons.  In  October,  1781, 
all  the  seminaries  in  America  having  severely  suffered  by 
the  war,  which,  as  he  explained,  operated  "  powerfully  to 
the  disadvantage  of  the  present  race  of  American  youth," 
his  two  elder  sons,  Robert  and  Thomas,  were  sent  to 
Europe.  They  were  placed  under  the  care  of  Matthew 
Ridley,  an  Englishman  engaged  in  business  in  Baltimore, 
who  was  long  an  intimate  friend  of  the  family,  later 
marrying  Miss  Kitty  Livingston,  the  Revolutionary  belle, 
Mrs.  John  Jay's  sister,  who  spent  a  few  seasons  at  Mr. 
Morris's  home  in  Philadelphia.1  When  his  sons  were 
about  to  sail,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  John  Jay :  "  These 
two  good  and  well-beloved  boys  leave  us  to-morrow. 
They  are  tractable,  good  boys.  I  hope  they  will  make 

1  Boogher's  Repository. 


264  ROBERT   MORRIS 

good  men,  for  that  is  essential.  Perhaps  they  may 
become  useful  to  their  country,  which  is  very  desirable, 
and  if  they  have  genius  and  judgment,  the  education 
they  will  receive  may  be  the  foundation  for  them  to 
become  learned  or  great  men,  but  this  is  of  most  con 
sequence  to  themselves.  Should  it  fall  in  your  way  to 
notice  them,  I  am  sure  you  will  do  it."  The  boys  were 
also  supplied  with  a  letter  to  Dr.  Franklin  at  Paris,  and 
were  taken  to  Geneva  where  they  found  his  twelve-year- 
old  grandson,  Benjamin  Franklin  Bache,  who,  like  them, 
had  been  sent  abroad  to  secure  a  schooling.  They  re 
mained  in  the  Swiss  city,  at  that  time  so  popular  a  resort 
for  visitors  from  every  land,  for  five  years.  During  their 
vacations  they  made  short  excursions  in  the  neighbor 
hood,  and  one  summer  they  passed  their  holidays  in 
Paris  with  Mrs.  Jay,  who  showed  them  motherly  kind 
ness  and  attention.  In  1786  they  went  to  Leipsic,  being 
old  enough  to  enter  a  university,  and  remained  there  for 
nearly  two  years.  While  the  Constitutional  Convention 
was  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  his 
boys  in  Germany,  telling  them  of  the  work  of  the  dele 
gates.  "  You,  my  children,"  he  said,  "  ought  to  pray  for 
a  successful  issue  to  their  labors,  as  the  result  is  to  be 
a  form  of  government  under  which  you  are  to  live,  and 
in  the  administration  of  which  you  may  hereafter  probably 
have  a  share,  provided  you  qualify  yourselves  by  applica 
tion  to  your  studies.  The  laws  of  nations,  a  knowledge 
of  the  Germanic  system  and  the  constitutions  of  the  sev 
eral  governments  in  Europe,  and  an  intimate  acquaint- 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  265 

ance  with  ancient  and  modern  history  are  essentially 
necessary  to  entitle  you  to  participate  in  the  honor  of 
serving  a  free  people  in  the  administration  of  their  gov 
ernment." 

In  1788  to  the  joy  of  their  parents  and  brothers  and 
sisters,  from  whom  they  had  been  separated  for  seven 
years,  the  boys  returned  to  America.  Mr.  Morris  had 
himself  keenly  felt  the  need  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
law,  for  which  reason  he  was  careful  that  all  his  sons 
who  would  take  it  should  receive  a  legal  education. 
Whether  they  should  practise  it  or  not,  they  were  to  be 
bred  to  the  profession,  and  while  they  were  promptly 
provided  with  places  in  connection  with  the  management 
of  his  extensive  business  interests,  they  found  the  training 
of  great  value  to  them  in  later  life.  The  two  sons  who 
had  been  educated  in  Europe,  Robert  and  Thomas,  were 
destined  to  be  a  peculiar  comfort  to  Mr.  Morris.  Robert 
was  sent  to  superintend  his  father's  affairs,  around  the 
Falls  of  Trenton  at  Morrisville,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Thomas  was  busied  in  directing  the  operations  upon  the 
Morris  tract  in  western  New  York.  In  his  successful 
negotiation  of  an  important  treaty  with  the  Indians, 
the  latter  won  a  great  deal  of  public  notice.  This  feat 
made  him  the  apple  of  his  father's  eye.  The  service 
came  at  a  time  when  Mr.  Morris  was  kept  in  Philadel 
phia  by  his  creditors  and  was  prevented  from  attending 
to  the  business  in  person,  so  that  the  appreciation  of  the 
young  man's  aptitude  and  tact  was  particularly  keen. 

In  1795  Mr.  Morris  was  gratified  by  the   marriage  of 


266  ROBERT   MORRIS 

his  eldest  daughter  Hetty  to  James  Marshall,  of  Vir 
ginia,  a  younger  brother  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall. 
James  Marshall  was  a  lawyer,  and  he  was  almost  immedi 
ately  sent  abroad  to  sell  or  mortgage  his  father-in-law's 
lands,  having  been  appointed,  before  his  departure, 
Secretary  of  the  North  American  Land  Company  which 
was  organized  as  a  means  of  distributing  the  burden  that 
now  bore  heavily  upon  the  great  Financier.  To  Thomas 
Law,  who  had  sent  his  congratulations  on  the  occasion 
of  the  marriage  and  who  had  jocularly  suggested  an 
admiration  for  Mrs.  Morris,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  on  April  20, 
1795:- 

"  We  thank  you  for  your  congratulations  on  the 
marriage  of  my  daughter,  who  is,  and  I  hope  always 
will  be,  happy.  I  think  you  had  best  look  elsewhere 
and  not  form  any  expectations  from  my  tipping  off,  for 
I  think  your  patience  may  be  completely  worn  out 
before  that  event  happens  to 

"  Dear  Sir,  Yours 

"ROBERT  MORRIS." 

To  another  friend  he  wrote  that  he  believed  his  daugh 
ter  had  "  bestowed  herself  on  a  man  of  sense  and  honor 
that  knows  her  value  and  merit  so  that  there  is  every 
reason  to  expect  happiness  from  the  union."  Hetty  was 
the  first  child  to  wed,  but  "probably  some  of  the  boys 
will  pay  homage  to  Hymen  by  and  by,"  he  observed. 
When  Robert  married,  a  few  months  later,  his  father 
wrote  after  returning  from  a  pleasant  visit  to  Morris- 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  267 

ville,  "  Robert  has  a  charming  and  amiable  young  woman 
for  his  wife,  and  I  think  they  are  perfectly  happy." 

His  children  were  constantly  in  the  thoughts  of  this 
great-hearted  man.  The  Marshalls,  who  sailed  on  a  ship 
called  the  Pennsylvania,  went  at  first  to  London.  Hetty, 
whose  accouchement  was  expected  soon  after  they  should 
arrive  in  England,  was  the  object  of  much  solicitude  on 
her  father's  part.  Writing  to  Marshall  while  they  were 
still  at  sea,  expressing  many  hopes  that  the  voyage  might 
be  brief  and  pleasant,  he  said:  "Poor  Hetty,  we  think 
of  her,  feel  for  her,  and  talk  of  her  constantly.  Happy 
shall  I  be  to  hear  of  your  setting  your  feet  safely  on  the 
British  Isles."  Although  they  had  sailed  in  October,  1795, 
such  were  the  means  of  communication  at  the  time  that 
word  of  their  safe  arrival  in  England  was  not  received  in 
Philadelphia  until  late  in  March,  1796.  This  news  and 
a  later  letter  announcing  the  birth  in  February  of  Hetty's 
child,  a  son,  caused  much  rejoicing  in  the  Morris  house 
hold.  To  one  of  his  sons  a  little  later,  Mr.  Morris  wrote : 
"  Mrs.  Church  has  behaved  to  Hetty  in  the  most  friendly 
manner  that  was  possible.  She  writes  most  feelingly 
in  acknowledgment  of  the  attention  and  friendly  acts 
of  Mrs.  Church.  We  must  show  our  thanks  by  equal 
attentions  to  Mrs.  Church's  family  and  relations,  and  I 
mention  this  to  you  in  that  view."  Before  they  sailed 
he  had  given  the  Marshalls  letters  to  many  friends  and 
connections  in  Europe  which  he  had  made  as  an  individual 
and  as  a  public  man.  To  a  business  house  in  Hamburg 
he  wrote  that  if  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  and  their  child 


268  ROBERT   MORRIS 

(he  included  all  three)  should  come  there,  "  I  shall  hope 
for  the  extension  of  your  civilities  to  persons  so  dear 
to  me."  Letters  were  forwarded  to  the  absent  members 
of  his  family  by  Talleyrand-Perigord,  who  had  visited 
for  a  time  at  the  Morris  home,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and 
others  who  would  agree  to  serve  as  messengers.  "  I  long 
for  the  time  when  you  can  both  return  to  the  bosom  of 
your  connexions  and  friends,"  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to  his  son- 
in-law  in  December,  1796.  His  letters  were  full  of  paternal 
encouragement  in  a  bad  business.  They  were  free  of 
blame  for  failure  to  perform  a  mission,  the  difficulty  of 
which  none  knew  better  than  he,  and  when  Marshall, 
his  wife,  and  two  children,  one  of  whom  had  passed 
through  an  attack  of  smallpox,  returned  after  a  tour 
which  included  Holland,  Prussia,  and  Poland,  it  was  to 
find  Mr.  Morris  a  prisoner  of  sheriffs  and  constables  at 
"The  Hills." 

The  younger  sons,  William,  Charles,  and  Henry,  were 
educated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.1  From 
William  and  Charles  Mr.  Morris  derived  scant  comfort. 
Their  wild  and  idle  habits  caused  him  endless  anxiety  at 
a  time  when  he  was  ill  suited  to  carry  extra  burdens. 
William,  who  was  named  for  his  uncle  Bishop  White, 
had  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Edward  Tilghman  in 
Philadelphia.  Before  the  Marshalls  had  yet  left  America, 
he  was  sent  abroad  with  Gouverneur  Morris  on  land 
business,  but  soon  proved  himself  unworthy  of  trust. 
The  pleasures  of  Paris  kept  him  long  in  that  city.  He 
1  Montgomery's  "Descendants  of  Colonel  Thomas  White." 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  269 

failed  to  advise  his  father  of  his  whereabouts  except 
through  drafts  for  money.  Many  letters,  including  one 
sent  through  "  Citizen  "  James  Monroe,  then  our  Minister 
to  France,  did  not  induce  the  young  man  to  furnish  any 
account  of  his  doings.  Robert  was  at  Morrisville,  Thomas 
in  New  York ;  it  was  designed  that  William  should  sta 
tion  himself  at  Washington  to  look  after  his  father's  large 
holdings  in  the  new  Federal  capital.  But  William  was 
of  another  mind.  He  was  not  anxious  to  assume  the 
serious  responsibilities  of  life.  "I  will  do  anything  for 
him  except  furnish  him  money,  and  will  do  that  if  I 
must,"  Morris  wrote  early  in  1796.  Later,  he  resolved 
not  to  pay  any  more  drafts  unless  "he  appears  here  to 
give  an  account  of  himself,"  and  forbade  Marshall 
finding  him  in  money  "  unless  it  be  to  send  him  home." 
"  I  cannot  think  what  has  become  of  him,"  said  his 
anxious  parent,  but  finally,  in  May,  1797,  after  taking  his 
pleasure  for  three  years,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
later  to  make  himself  useful  in  straightening  out  his 
father's  tangled  accounts.  He  died  in  1798  of  the 
scourge  of  fever,  which  several  times  visited  the  city 
in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  was 
"bled,  blistered,  purged,  sweated,"  and  given  all  the 
doses  which  medical  men  of  the  time  knew  how  to 
prescribe  and  apply,  as  Robert  Morris  observed  in  a 
letter  from  his  prison-house.  No  remedy  would  avail, 
and  he  was  sincerely  mourned  by  a  father  he  had  not 
always  honored  or  obeyed.  In  a  letter  to  John  Nichol 
son,  whose  wife  was  sick  of  the  fever,  Mr.  Morris 


270  ROBERT   MORRIS 

wrote,  "  Send  me  good  news  of  her,  and  do  not  let 
her  copy  the  fate  of  my  poor  son,  of  whom  I  cannot 
help  thinking  constantly,  his  image  being  ever  present 
to  my  mind  ;  his  value  to  his  family  I  never  counted 
until  he  was  lost,  and  now  I  see  its  magnitude,  and 
that  it  is  irreparable."1 

The  fourth  son,  Charles,  was  designed  for  mercantile 
life.  At  eighteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  Philip  Nicklin 
and  Co.,  of  Philadelphia.  "  Three  years  hence,"  Mr. 
Morris  wrote  at  this  time,  "I  must  brush  up  my  old 
commercial  correspondents  to  find  connections  for  him." 
He  remained  there,  however,  for  but  a  little  while.  Then 
his  father  was  obliged  to  find  a  place  for  him  in  his 
own  counting-house,  where  he  was  given  courses  in 
reading,  writing,  and  bookkeeping,  in  the  hope  of  mak 
ing  him  "a  useful  and  respectable  member  of  society," 
but  soon  he  was  "running  riot  again,"  and,  leaving 
home,  sought  the  indulgence  of  his  brothers.  He  went 
to  New  York.  Mr.  Morris  asked  Thomas  not  to  shelter 
him.  "I  will  not  pay  his  debts  nor  do  anything  for 
him  until  he  makes  submission  and  amendment,"  his 
father  wrote  in  a  fit  of  pique,  but  this  generous  man 
gave  liberally  to  all  his  children  so  long  as  he  had  the 
money  with  which  to  gratify  their  expensive  tastes,  and 
his  threats  were  not  greatly  feared. 

The  Morrises  were  always  good  livers.  They  gave 
no  thought  to  the  cost  of  their  houses,  furniture,  wines, 
or  foods.  The  best  that  could  be  procured  was  in  daily 
1  Letter  dated  October  10,  1798,  in  Dreer  Collection. 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  271 

use,  regardless  of  expense.  As  a  merchant  in  the 
European,  West  Indian,  and  China  trade,  Mr.  Morris 
imported  freely  for  his  own  household.  Fine  china, 
jewels,  laces,  dress  cloths,  tapestries,  blooded  cattle,  and 
sheep,  art  works,  books,  wines,  and  tea  too  choice  for 
the  American  market  came  up  the  Delaware  in  his 
cargoes.  They  went  to  his  city  house,  or  to  "  The 
Hills,"  to  delight  his  wife  and  children,  and  his  vast 
legion  of  friends  which  included  all  persons  of  title  or 
position  in  this  country  or  Europe,  whose  business  or 
pleasure  led  them  to  the  capital  of  the  thirteen  states. 
To  a  friend  in  China,  early  in  1795,  when  he  was  still 
not  without  hope,  although  his  financial  troubles  were 
full  upon  him,  he  wrote,  asking  that  chinaware  should 
be  purchased  in  Canton  for  Mrs.  Morris.  He  also 
wished  some  silks,  nankeen,  and  "a  little  of  the  very 
finest  high-flavored  Hyson  tea  for  our  own  use."  Of  a 
business  agent  in  Bordeaux  he  ordered  a  hogshead  of 
the  best  claret  which  could  be  secured  in  that  city.  If 
the  quality  were  very  good,  the  shipment  might  be 
increased  to  four  hogsheads.  "I  want  these  wines  for 
my  own  use,"  added  Mr.  Morris,  "and  therefore  you 
must  send  the  best  or  none."  Again  he  wrote  to  Bor 
deaux,  commissioning  a  merchant  to  procure  some  "  fine 
old  wines  which  had  been  laid  up  by  noblemen  or  gen 
tlemen  of  fortune  for  their  own  provision."  These  were 
being  forced  into  the  market  by  reason  of  the  "hard 
times,"  and  he  wanted  forty,  fifty,  or  one  hundred 
dozens.  "  Remember,"  he  said  in  a  postscript,  "  if  the 


272  ROBERT   MORRIS 

wines  are  good,  we  shall  drink  your  health;  if  not,  we 
drink  none  of  them." 

In  May,  1796,  a  merchant  in  Madeira  forwarded  two 
pipes  of  wine  and  he  ordered  two  more,  promising  to  pay 
the  drafts  as  before.  "  But  beside  this,"  he  added,  "  when 
it  comes  to  their  turn  to  be  drunk  at  my  table,  the  shipper's 
name  shall  be  mentioned  in  order  to  give  that  celebrity 
which  is  always  desirable.  I  shall  be  glad,  also,  if  you 
visit  this  country  again  to  have  the  opportunity  of  making 
you  merry  over  a  bottle  of  it  every  time  you  shall  find  it 
convenient  to  be  the  guest  of,  Yours,  Robert  Morris." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  such  a  home,  which  was  at  all 
times  open  to  the  first  in  the  land  on  the  invitation  of  one 
of  the  warmest-hearted  of  men,  became  the  real  social 
capital  of  the  Middle  states.  Hither  came  Washington 
again  and  again,  Hamilton,  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  John 
Jay,  who  were  long  Robert  Morris's  closest  friends,  John 
Hancock,  Thomas  Jefferson,  General  Greene,  General 
Gates,  Lafayette,  Rochambeau,  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux, 
Prince  de  Broglie,  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  Talleyrand- 
Perigord,  and  most  of  the  lesser  celebrities  of  the  time. 
After  Congress  had  fled  to  Baltimore  at  the  approach  of  a 
troop  of  Hessians  and  Highlanders,  leaving  Morris  in 
Philadelphia,  Hancock,  then  the  President  of  Congress, 
wrote  him:  "I  long  to  see  you  here  and  yet  you  must 
stay  at  Philadelphia.  I  have  some  of  your  own  wine 
left  for  you.  I  wish  to  have  one  sit  down  with  you  in  my 
poor  habitation.  I  know  no  one  more  welcome.  .  .  . 
Believe  me  to  be  with  every  sentiment  that  respect  and 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  273 


esteem  can  inspire,  my  dear  Sir,  Your  very  obedient  ser 
vant,  John  Hancock." 

The  depth  and  reality  of  the  friendship  existing  between 
these  two  men  are  indicated  by  a  long  series  of  letters.  In 
October,  1777,  when  Congress  had  gone  to  York,  Pa., 
Hancock  wrote :  "  My  good  friend,  I  should  esteem  it  a 
very  particular  favor  if  you  could,  without  prejudicing 
your  own  stock,  spare  me  a  little  Madeira,  if  it  was  only 
three  dozen.  I  care  not  for  price,  for  I  feel  awkward  not 
to  have  it  in  my  power  to  ask  a  friend  to  take  a  glass." 
He  offered  to  send  a  light  wagon  to  Manheim,  where 
Morris  was  then  living,  to  fetch  the  wine.  A  little  later, 
Mr.  Hancock,  observing  that  Mr.  Morris  walked  with  a 
staff,  "takes  the  freedom  to  send  him  a  gold  head  for 
a  cane,  of  which  he  requests  Mr.  Morris's  acceptance  as  a 
small  token  of  his  real  regard  and  friendship  for  him."1 

Washington's  love  for  the  Financier  of  so  many  of  his 
campaigns  was  deep  and  abiding.  When  he  and  his  army 
were  moving  South  to  lay  siege  to  York  town,  the  Com 
mander-in-chief,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  invited  by 
Mr.  Morris  to  "consider  and  use  my  house  and  what  it  affords 
as  your  own."  Mrs.  Morris  and  the  children  were  spending 
the  summer  at  Springetsbury.  The  mattresses  were  spread 
about  on  the  floors  for  the  use  of  the  aides,  and  all  enjoyed 
the  comforts  of  a  fine  mansion  at  Mr.  Morris's  personal 
expense  for  several  days,  until  the  plans  were  completed 
for  the  advance  southward.  After  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis,  Washington  again  visited  at  the  Morris  home.  On 
i  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Collections  for  1878. 


274  ROBERT   MORRIS 

November  26,  1781,  Mr.  Morris  writes  in  his  Diary:  "This 
day  his  Excellency,  General  Washington,  with  his  lady, 
arrived  in  town.  I  gave  them  an  invitation  to  my  house 
which  was  accepted,  and  in  the  evening  I  held  a  confer 
ence  with  his  Excellency  and  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette." 
Desiring  to  spend  the  winter  of  1781—82  in  the  city, 
Washington  decided  to  hire  a  house  of  his  own,  and 
through  Mr.  Morris's  good  offices,  the  spacious  home  of 
Mr.  Rendon,  the  Spanish  resident,  was  secured.  No  other 
could  be  got.  Mr.  Rendon  was  willing  himself  to  live  for 
a  time  in  the  back  buildings  of  his  residence,  and  here  the 
Washingtons  remained  for  several  months,  the  General 
holding  conferences  with  Mr.  Morris  at  the  Office  of 
Finance  every  Monday  evening.  This  was  the  real  begin 
ning  of  an  acquaintance  between  the  two  families  which 
knew  no  interruption  henceforward.  In  the  summer  of 
1787,  when  Washington  came  up  from  Mount  Vernon  to 
attend  the  Constitutional  Convention,  he  was  taken  into 
the  Morris  family  and  was  a  guest  so  long  as  the  sessions 
lasted.  During  his  stay  in  the  city,  many  dinners  and 
receptions  were  arranged  in  the  General's  honor,  and 
the  Financier's  home  was  the  particular  centre  of  social 
and  political  interest  in  Philadelphia,  celebrities  com 
ing  and  going  incessantly.  While  a  few  years  later 
the  fastidious  Maclay,  Mr.  Morris's  colleague  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  found  General  Washington  dull  at 
dinner,  "solemn,"  and  disposed  to  play  with  his  fork 
between  courses,  there  were  not  a  few  who  esteemed  it  a 
singular  privilege  to  be  in  his  company.  During  periods 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  275 

when  the  convention  was  not  in  session,  Washington  and 
the  Morrises  made  short  excursions  in  the  neighborhood. 
Once  they  went  to  Trenton  on  a  fishing  trip,  and  another 
time  up  the  Schuylkill  to  Valley  Forge  whither  Gouver- 
neur  Morris  accompanied  the  General.  They  stopped  "  at 
one  Jane  Moore's  "  to  get  trout  on  a  little  creek  one  mile 
west  of  the  river,  but  Washington  soon  tired  of  the  sport 
and  left  Gouverneur  with  the  rod  and  line,  while  he  went 
over  the  works  his  army  had  built  while  encamped  there 
ten  years  before,  which  even  then  were  in  ruins.  When 
he  returned  to  Moore's,  it  was  to  meet  Robert  and  Mrs. 
Morris  who  had  driven  up  to  join  the  party.1 

Thus  the  intimacy  and  friendship  deepened.  When 
Washington  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  Charles  Thomson  was  sent  by  Congress  in  haste  to 
Mount  Vernon  to  carry  the  General  the  news  and  bid  him 
set  out  for  New  York,  he  stopped  over  for  a  night  in 
Philadelphia  on  his  triumphal  journey  northward,  and 
this  night  was  spent  at  the  Morris  home.  Thither  the 
procession  went.  There  the  bands  played,  the  guns 
pealed,  and  the  troopers  dipped  their  colors.  When 
Lady  Washington  came  on  a  few  weeks  later  to  join 
her  husband,  she  was  met  outside  the  city  by  Mrs. 
Morris,  escorted  by  a  troop  of  horse  to  the  Morris  house, 
where  she  remained  three  or  four  days,  until  the  wife 
of  the  Senator  of  Pennsylvania  could  make  ready  to 
accompany  the  first  lady  in  the  land  to  Elizabethtown 
Point,  to  be  met  by  Washington  and  Morris  in  the  famous 
i  Baker's  "  Washington  after  the  Revolution,"  Phila.  1898. 


276  ROBERT   MORRIS 

white  barge.  Again,  when  the  capital  was  transferred  to 
Philadelphia,  it  was  to  Mr.  Morris's  home  that  the 
President  came.  The  entire  family  moved  out  of  the 
residence  on  High  (Market)  Street,  east  of  Sixth  Street, 
to  make  way  for  the  Washingtons.  This  house,  which 
was  built  of  brick,  three  stories  in  height,  had  vacant 
lots  laid  out  as  gardens  upon  either  side  of  it.  There 
was  a  stable  in  the  rear,  and  it  was  accounted  the  most 
suitable  of  all  the  homes  in  the  city  for  the  President's 
use.  Here  he  held  his  famous  levees  while  in  Phila 
delphia.  In  this  stable  he  kept  his  well-groomed  stud 
of  horses,  which  were  the  pride  of  his  Southern  heart. 
To  this  door  came  the  great  cream-colored  coach  which 
excited  the  bitter  prejudices  of  the  democrats.  The 
Morrises  themselves  removed  but  one  house  away,  for 
lately  the  Financier  had  bought  the  Galloway  mansion 
at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  streets, 
and  the  families  ran  in  and  out  of  each  other's  homes 
with  neighborly  familiarity.  Mr.  Morris  exchanged  look 
ing-glasses  and  a  clothes  mangle  with  General  Washing 
ton,  it  being  inconvenient  to  remove  them  to  his  new 
home.  From  the  end  of  November,  1790,  until  the 
inauguration  of  John  Adams  on  March  4,  1797,  except 
for  a  season  spent  in  Germantown  while  the  plague 
raged,  the  President  resided  in  the  Morris  house,  and 
after  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon  the  friendship  of  the 
two  families  for  each  other  did  not  cease.1 

Robert   Morris  was  the  friend  and  adviser  who  came 
iHart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  II. 


HIS   FAMILY  AND   HIS   FRIENDS  277 

closest  to  General  Washington  during  this  important 
period  of  our  political  history.1  His  counsel  was  wel 
come,  and  his  generous  support  and  sympathy  were 
always  appreciated.  He  sat  or  stood  by  the  President's 
side  at  most  of  the  social  functions  in  Washington's 
home  ;  and  as  for  Mrs.  Morris,  she  was  easily  the  second 
lady  in  the  land.  Her  position  was  never  in  dispute 
during  the  Washington  administration,  either  in  New 
York  or  Philadelphia.  At  the  levees  she  occupied  the 
first  place  at  Mrs.  Washington's  right  hand.  Even 
that  bilious  diarist,  Maclay,  admits  her  title  to  the  post. 
He  had  dined  in  the  Morris  family,  with  two  Pennsyl 
vania  Congressmen,  in  New  York,  when,  with  some  reflec 
tions  upon  the  manners  of  the  period,  he  observes :  "  Mrs. 
Morris  talked  a  great  deal  after  dinner.  She  did  it 
gracefully  enough,  this  being  a  gayer  place  [than  Phila 
delphia],  and  she  being  here  considered  as  at  least  the 
second  female  character  at  court.  As  to  taste,  etiquette, 
etc.,  she  is  certainly  first.  I  thought  she  discovered  a 
predilection  for  New  York,  but  perhaps  she  was  only 
doing  it  justice  while  my  extreme  aversion,  like  a  jealous 
sentinel,  is  for  giving  no  quarter.  I,  however,  happened 
to  mention  that  they  were  ill  supplied  with  the  article 
of  cream.  Mrs.  Morris  had  much  to  say  on  this  sub 
ject;  declared  they  had  done  all  they  could,  and  even 
sent  to  the  country  all  about,  but  that  they  could  not 
be  supplied.  She  told  many  anecdotes  on  this  subject; 
particularly  how  two  days  ago  she  dined  at  the  Presi- 
1  Custis's  "  Recollections.'* 


278  ROBERT   MORRIS 

dent's.  A  large,  fine-looking  trifle  was  brought  to  table, 
and  appeared  exceedingly  well  indeed.  She  was  helped 
by  the  President,  but  on  taking  some  of  it,  she  had  to 
pass  her  handkerchief  to  her  mouth  and  rid  herself  of 
the  morsel,  on  which  she  whispered  to  the  President. 
The  cream  of  which  it  was  made  had  been  unusually 
stale  and  rancid ;  on  which  the  General  changed  his 
plate  immediately.  'But,'  she  added  with  a  titter, 
4 Mrs.  Washington  ate  a  whole  heap  of  it.'"1 

During  that  period  after  he  had  broken  with  the  pro- 
French  element,  and  had  become  the  object  of  the  vilest 
popular  calumnies,  Washington  greatly  valued  his  power 
ful  friend's  sympathy  and  support  and  they  never  failed 
him.  On  New  Year's  Day,  1796,  Mr.  Morris  wrote  to 
his  son-in-law,  James  Marshall,  "Great  crowds  are  visit 
ing  the  President,  his  virtues  break  through  the  clouds 
and  mists  endeavored  to  be  cast  by  the  anarchists,  and  his 
sun  of  glory  will  forever  disperse  them." 

Nor  were  the  Washingtons  friends  for  fair  weather 
only.  Their  faith  endured  afterward.  Mrs.  Morris  and 
her  daughter  Maria  visited  at  Mount  Vernon,  while  Mr. 
Morris  was  in  the  custody  of  the  law,  and  General  Wash 
ington,  when  in  Philadelphia,  in  1798,  wended  his  way  to 
the  prison-house  once  again  to  meet,  and  if  possible  to 
console,  the  bankrupted  and  humiliated  Financier  of  the 
Revolution. 

Another  friend  whom  Robert  Morris  greatly  prized  was 
Gouverneur  Morris.  Their  intimacy  was  unbroken  for 
1  Maclay's  Journal,  p.  73. 


HIS   FAMILY  AND   HIS   FRIENDS  279 

more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Gouverneur  had  en 
joyed  educational  opportunities  denied  to  Robert  Morris, 
and  the  association  with  this  man  was  of  large  weight  in 
giving  form  to  the  Financier's  political  views.  The 
companionship  and  sympathy  of  his  assistant  during  his 
administration  of  the  Office  of  Finance  were  of  inesti 
mable  benefit  to  Robert  Morris.  Practically  a  member  of 
the  family  during  these  years  and  afterward,  Gouverneur 
Morris  shared  his  chief's  disappointments,  fears,  sorrows, 
and  joys.  It  was  Gouverneur  Morris,  as  we  have  seen,  who 
took  charge  of  the  Office  of  Finance  while  Robert  Morris 
went  to  meet  Washington  and  the  officers  of  the  French 
army  at  their  camp  in  August,  1781,  to  arrange  for  the  ad 
vance  upon  Yorktown.  It  was  Gouverneur  Morris  who, 
because  of  his  command  of  the  French  language,  super 
intended  the  negotiations  regarding  the  French  loans.  He 
it  was  who  rode  down  to  Chester  with  his  chief  to  get  the 
loan  of  144,000  livres  from  Rochambeau  which  enabled 
Washington  to  dispense  one  month's  pay  to  the  northern 
regiments,  without  which  they  could  not  have  been  in 
duced  to  proceed  beyond  the  Head  of  Elk  on  the  way  to 
Yorktown.  He  was  a  good  horseman,  notwithstanding  his 
wooden  leg,  and  accompanied  the  Financier  on  the  rides 
in  the  country  which  were  his  principal  recreation. 
February  24  "being  Sunday,"  Robert  Morris  writes  in 
his  Diary,  "  Mr.  G.  Morris  and  myself  came  to  the  office, 
wrote  some  letters,  and  then  went  in  pursuit  of  health  on 
horseback."  Gouverneur  Morris  was  at  Robert  Morris's 
side  at  public  dinners  and  on  other  social  occasions.  He 


280  ROBERT   MORRIS 

was  usually  present  at  the  conferences  of  the  Superin 
tendent  of  Finance  with  members  of  Congress  and  with 
Washington,  Lafayette,  and  the  heads  of  departments. 
He  fled  with  Robert  Morris  to  Princeton  when  eighty 
Continental  soldiers  descended  upon  Philadelphia  to 
demand  a  small  sum  of  money  due  them  for  back  pay. 
He  and  Robert  Morris  escorted  Washington  to  Gray's 
Ferry  on  his  way  South  after  the  adjournment  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention.  A  little  later  the  two  Mor 
rises  went  South  together  and  were  absent  six  months, 
inspecting  and  purchasing  public  lands,  when  they  were 
guests  for  a  time  at  Mount  Vernon.  Still  later  Gouverneur 
Morris  went  to  Europe  with  Robert  Morris's  son  William 
on  land  business,  and  barely  escaped  being  swept  into  that 
vortex  which  carried  his  old  chief  down  to  destruction. 
To  Gouverneur,  then  in  Paris,  Robert  wrote  January  2, 
1791,  "  You  never  had  nor  ever  will  have  a  more  sincere 
friend  than  Robert  Morris." 

Their  mutual  intimacy  with  John  Jay  made  the  three 
a  group  of  peculiar  strength.  To  Jay,  Robert  Morris 
wrote  January  3,  1783 :  "  I  cannot  take  time  at  present 
to  enter  on  any  political  discussions,  but  you  must  allow 
me  to  declare  my  perfect  satisfaction  in  and  approbation 
of  your  conduct  in  Europe.  All  who  have  had  the  oppor 
tunity  of  knowing  what  it  has  been,  are  struck  with 
admiration  at  your  patience  under  difficulties  and  your 
firmness  in  rising  superior  to  them.  Go  on,  my  friend; 
you  deserve  and  will  receive  the  gratitude  of  your  coun 
try.  History  will  hand  down  your  plaudits  to  pos- 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  281 

terity.  .  .  .  Your  friend  Gouverneur  writes  you  politi 
cal  letters,  but  as  he  tells  you  nothing  of  himself,  it  is  just 
that  I  tell  you  how  industrious,  how  useful  he  is.  His 
talents  and  abilities  you  know;  they  are  faithfully  and 
disinterestedly  applied  to  the  service  of  his  country.  I 
could  do  nothing  without  him,  and  our  quiet  labors  do 
but  just  keep  the  wheels  in  motion.  .  .  .  With  sincere 
attachment,"  etc. 

Again  in  November,  1783,  Robert  Morris  wrote  to 
Jay :  "  I  do  not  know  whether  Gouverneur  writes  to 
you  by  this  opportunity.  You  must  cherish  his  friend 
ship,  it  is  worth  possessing.  He  has  more  virtue  than 
he  shows  and  more  consistency  than  anybody  believes. 
He  values  you  exceedingly,  and  hereafter  you  will  be 
very  useful  to  each  other.  Mrs.  Morris  will  write  to 
Mrs.  Jay  and  say  for  herself  what  she  has  to  say ;  though 
I  don't  believe  she  will  tell  her,  as  she  does  everybody 
else,  the  high  estimation  in  which  she  holds  Mrs.  Jay 
and  yourself.  Permit  me,  also,  my  worthy  friend,  to  assure 
you  both  of  the  sincerity  of  that  affection  with  which  I 
profess  myself  your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant." 

This  feeling  of  affectionate  regard,  unusual  even  for 
the  warm  heart  of  Robert  Morris,  was  fully  reciprocated. 
In  September,  1783,  John  Jay  wrote  to  the  Financier: 
"  I  hope  next  summer  to  see  you,  and  to  brighten  at 
the  Hills  the  chain  which  I  flatter  myself  will  always 
connect  us.  Let  not,  therefore,  any  idea  of  keeping 
me  longer  in  Europe  be  encouraged." 

Again,  Jay  wrote  from   Madrid,  November   19,  1780 : 


282  ROBERT   MORRIS 

"  There  are  some  hearts  which,  like  feathers,  stick  to 
everything  they  touch,  and  quit  each  with  equal  ease. 
Mine  is  not  one  of  this  kind;  it  adheres  to  few,  but  it 
takes  strong  hold.  You  must,  therefore,  write  to  me ; 
and  if  you  would  make  your  letter  very  agreeable*,  dwell 
on  the  objects  you  will  find  at  or  near  the  Hills  within 
your  own  walls.  Mrs.  Jay  writes  by  this  opportunity 
to  Mrs.  Morris,  whom  she  loves  and  esteems  for  many 
reasons  unnecessary  to  repeat  to  you." 

Alexander  Hamilton  was  only  somewhat  less  a  friend 
than  Washington  and  Jay,  because  of  his  different  tem 
perament.  Benjamin  Harrison  and  Benjamin  Harrison, 
Jr.,  of  Virginia,  Robert  Morris  warmly  loved  and  admired. 
Although  not  sharing  the  great  Virginia  democrat's 
political  views,  in  1796,  he  secured  a  Spanish  ram  and 
shipped  it  to  Monticello  in  answer  to  an  interest  Thomas 
Jefferson  had  expressed  in  this  breed  of  animals  while 
being  entertained  at  "The  Hills.'*  John  Paul  Jones  was 
never  out  of  Morris's  heart.  Jones  named  the  Financier 
as  his  executor,  and  to  the  Philadelphia  merchant  fell  the 
task  of  settling  up  the  estate  for  the  benefit  of  the  Com 
modore's  heirs  in  Scotland.  From  France,  in  June,  1780, 
after  his  great  battle  with  the  Serapis,  Jones  modestly  wrote 
to  "  my  much  honored  and  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Morris," 
that  "his  Majesty  ordered  a  superb  sword  to  be  made 
for  me  with  an  inscription  in  Latin  on  the  blade  that 
would  do  honor  to  the  greatest  admiral  in  history."  1  This 
trophy,  gold-mounted,  bore  the  words,  "Louis  XVI,  the 
i  Buell's  "PaulJones." 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  283 

rewarder,  to  the  mighty  deliverer  for  the  freedom  of 
the  sea,"  and  it  descended  at  Jones's  death  to  Mr.  Morris. 
It  reached  him  in  1795,  through  Thomas  Pinckney,  then 
our  Minister  to  Great  Britain,  to  whom  he  wrote,  "I 
have  to  return  to  you  thanks  for  taking  the  trouble  to 
forward  the  sword  of  the  late  Admiral  Paul  Jones  which 
came  safe  to  hand,  and  I  have  presented  it  to  Commodore 
John  Barry,  the  senior  officer  of  the  present  American 
navy  who  will  never  disgrace  it." 

Mr.  Morris  thought  it  fitting  that  those  who  had  had 
more  actively  to  do  with  the  naval  triumphs  of  the  war 
than  he  should  hold  this  trophy,  although  his  family 
wished  him  to  retain  it.1  At  Barry's  death  the  blade 
passed  to  Commodore  Richard  Dale,  who  fought  so 
bravely  on  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  and  it  remains 
in  the  Dale  family,  being  to-day  in  the  possession  of 
his  great-grandson,  Mr.  Richard  Dale  of  Philadelphia. 

Morris,  too,  had  friends  who  liked  and  trusted  him 
wherever  he  went  in  Philadelphia.  James  Wilson,  Thomas 
Willing,  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  John  Ross,  William  Bing- 
ham,  George  Clymer,  and  nearly  all  the  men  of  light  and 
leading  in  the  commercial,  political,  and  social  life  of 
the  city  knew  him  only  to  respect  and  honor  him.  He 
it  was  who  could  be  depended  on  to  uphold  the  American 
name  for  hospitality  in  the  sight  of  the  representatives 
of  foreign  nations.  He  loved  his  food  and  wine,  and 
knew  how  to  make  others  enjoy  themselves  at  dinner 
time.  Many  anniversaries  would  have  passed  without 
1  Fisher's  "  Revolutionary  Reminiscences." 


284  ROBERT   MORRIS 

public  notice,  had  it  not  been  for  his  initiative.  Thanks 
giving  days  and  the  Fourth  of  July  were  signals  to  him 
for  public  banquets.  When  Washington  and  other  dis 
tinguished  guests  came  to  town,  Morris  was  the  first  to 
suggest  or  organize  a  feast  at  some  inn  or  coffee  house. 
On  July  4,  1782,  he  writes  in  his  Diary :  "  This  being 
the  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  I 
directed  the  office  to  be  shut,  and  dismissed  all  persons 
employed  in  it,  that  they  might  be  at  leisure  to  indulge 
those  pleasing  reflections  which  every  true  American 
must  feel  on  the  recollection  that  six  years  are  now  com 
pleted  since  that  decisive  step  was  taken  in  favor  of  the 
freedom  of  their  country,  and  that  they  might  each  par 
take  of  the  festivity  usual  on  holidays.  His  Excellency, 
the  President  of  Congress,  having  provided  a  cold  colla 
tion,  Mr.  G.  Morris  and  myself  waited  upon  his  Excel 
lency  to  congratulate  and  be  congratulated  on  the  return 
of  this  day,  partook  of  the  collation,  and  afterward  fin 
ished  the  day  with  great  satisfaction  in  a  select  company 
at  the  house  of  a  friend." 

On  October  3,  1782,  Mr.  Morris  invited  the  Congress 
men,  the  Minister  of  France,  the  Consul  and  Vice-consul 
of  France  in  Philadelphia,  the  Spanish  Resident,  the 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
other  distinguished  men  in  the  city,  to  dine  with  him  in 
honor  of  the  acknowledgment  of  American  Indepen 
dence  by  the  United  Provinces  of  the  Low  Countries, 
which  he  records  "  was  done  with  great  festivity,  suitable 
toasts  being  drank  for  the  occasion." 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  285 

On  July  4,  1783,  after  coming  back  to  the  city  from 
Princeton,  whither  he  had  hurriedly  gone  with  Congress 
at  the  approach  of  the  unpaid  soldiers,  he  writes,  "  Find 
ing  on  my  return  that  no  public  entertainment  was  pro 
vided  for  this  day,  I  invited  a  company  of  forty  gentlemen 
consisting  of  foreigners,  military  and  civil  officers,  and 
citizens,  and  spent  the  afternoon  and  evening  in  great 
festivity  and  mirth." 

Mr.  Morris  was  not  only  a  lavish  host,  but  he  was 
also  a  charitable  man  before  his  fortune  was  scattered 
in  speculation.  He  gave  freely  of  his  means  to  the  poor, 
and  his  donations  were  not  always  small.  To  an  un 
fortunate  Jewish  friend  in  Baltimore  whose  needs  were 
brought  to  his  notice  he  lent  five  hundred  pounds.  Al 
though  the  sum  was  not  repaid  he  later  doubled  the 
amount,  both  contributions  turning  out  to  be  gifts.1  At 
his  own  expense  he  erected  a  house  on  Eighth  Street 
below  Market  for  Robert  Edge  Pine,  where  the  English 
artist  might  exhibit  his  pictures,  and  was  a  liberal 
patron  of  his  prote'ge'.  His  bounty  to  the  government, 
to  his  friends,  and  to  charitable  objects  made  him  the 
real  prince  of  North  America,  and  when  his  financial  sun 
had  set,  there  was  genuine  sorrow  wherever  his  name  was 
known  and  his  good  deeds  were  appreciated. 

But  why,  we  may  ask,  did  this  character  endear  himself 
so  singularly  to  his  fellow-men?  It  was  more  than  his 
generosity  and  hospitality  which  drew  to  him  a  legion 
of  friends  from  among  the  greatest  of  the  United  States 

1  Anonymous  Life  of  Robert  Morris,  Phila.  1841. 


286  ROBERT   MORRIS 

and  Europe.  It  was  his  rarely  sanguine  temperament, 
his  freedom  from  vanity,  his  sure  and  confident  touch,  and 
the  human  note  in  his  life.  A  well-proportioned  man, 
quite  six  feet  tall,  his  personality  was  impressive.  Of 
heavy  build,  he  was  a  figure  of  prominence  in  assemblages 
of  his  fellows.  Long  afflicted  with  the  asthma,  at  times 
when  the  malady  was  most  troublesome,  he  found  no 
relief  except  in  working  vigorously  at  a  pump  as  though 
he  were  on  a  sinking  ship  and  his  life  depended  on  it. 
Sensitive  but  firm,  generous  but  just,  he  was  heard  and 
respected  in  whatever  transaction  he  participated.  With 
blue  eyes,  hair  that  was  sandy  in  youth,  although  it  grew 
gray  with  advancing  years,  and  a  clear  complexion,  Robert 
Morris's  face  is  handed  down  to  us  in  five  different 
portraits :  a  Peale,  a  Trumbull,  a  Stuart,  a  Savage,  and  the 
familiar  work  of  Robert  Edge  Pine.  His  sociable  manner, 
his  thought  and  conversation,  and  his  writings  made  his 
friendship  prized  by  men  whose  opportunities  had  been 
much  broader  than  his  own.  He  professed  to  no  learning 
which  he  did  not  possess.  Gracious  and  democratic  in 
his  relations  with  others,  he  used  simple,  unaffected 
language  to  express  thoughts  which  were  sprightly  and 
refreshing  for  their  directness  and  simplicity.  In  short, 
he  was  recognized  to  meet  that  estimate  Mr.  Morris  had 
formed  of  his  son-in-law,  James  Marshall,  "  a  man  of  sense 
and  honor."  His  conversations,  as  well  as  his  letters, 
were  enjoyed  by  men  wiser  than  he  because  of  their 
good  sense  and  witty  turns  of  speech.  His  language  was 
terse  and  correct.  He  had  a  rare  appreciation  of  humor 


HIS   FAMILY   AND   HIS   FRIENDS  287 

in  every  situation,  and  was  master  of  a  satire  which  was 
as  artistic  as  it  was  pointed  and  confounding.  The 
writings  of  the  Fathers  may  be  sought  in  vain  for  ob 
servations  so  sensible,  so  well  expressed,  and  so  con 
sistently  entertaining  as  those  which  occur  in  the  Diary 
and  correspondence  of  Robert  Morris,  and  when  the  man's 
life  is  studied  in  the  light  of  these  evidences  of  his  ex 
traordinary  intelligence,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand 
the  charm  of  his  friendship  and  society.  Men  loved 
his  open  homes,  his  costly  foods  and  wines.  They  liked 
his  generous  heart.  But  more  than  all  this  such  friends 
as  he  made  and  held  unto  the  end  loved  him  for  his 
practical  judgment,  his  alert  mind,  his  sincerity,  his  hope 
ful  view  of  the  world,  and  the  diverting  and  original  wit 
which  he  brought  to  bear  upon  every  discussion. 

Not  a  financier  from  book  knowledge,  yet  in  1781  he 
was  able  to  lend  Mr.  Randolph,  who  had  called  to  express 
his  doubts  as  to  the  right  of  Congress  to  charter  the  bank, 
Adam  Smith's  "Wealth  of  Nations."  Keenly  alive  to 
progress  in  science  and  the  arts,  he  watched  with  active 
interest  the  development  of  discovery  and  invention, 
making  as  the  result  of  his  own  studies  advantageous 
changes  in  the  routes  of  vessels  at  sea.  His  attention 
was  engaged  with  the  early  experiments  in  Europe  with 
the  balloon.  John  Jay  had  written  him  in  September, 
1783:  "In  a  late  letter  to  G.  Morris  I  enclosed  him  an 
account  of  the  invention  of  globes  wherewith  man  may 
literally  soar  above  the  clouds.  I  herewith  send  you  two 
prints  containing  representations  of  the  rise  and  descent 


288  ROBERT   MORRIS 

of  one  of  them."  In  acknowledging  their  receipt,  Robert 
Morris  asks  out  of  a  practical  mind,  "  Pray  cannot  they 
contrive  to  send  passengers,  with  a  man  to  steer  the 
course,  so  as  to  make  them  the  means  of  conveyance  for 
despatches  from  one  country  to  another,  or  must  they  only 
be  sent  for  intelligence  to  the  moon  and  clouds  ?  " 

He  was,  however,  not  good  game  for  theorists  and 
frauds.  One  who  came  to  him,  while  he  was  in  the  Office 
of  Finance,  with  a  plan  to  preserve  meat  without  salting  it 
met  with  no  encouragement  from  the  Superintendent,  and 
another  inventor,  who  had  brought  with  him  a  machine  for 
solving  the  old  problem  of  perpetual  motion,  "  went  away 
convinced  that  his  discoveries  were  very  defective."  It 
was  the  man  whose  natural  sense  led  him  to  detect  igno 
rance,  pretension,  and  humbug,  and  to  combat  them  by 
honorable  action  and  ridicule  them  in  wise  saws  that  his 
friends  loved  so  well.  It  was  a  mind  of  uncommon  talent 
and  penetration  which  framed  apothegms  such  as  these 
taken  at  random  from  writings  that  teem  with  sparkling 
expressions :  — 

"  Men  are  less  ashamed  to  do  wrong  than  vexed  to  be 
told  of  it." 

"  While  I  assure  you  that  nothing  but  the  urgency  of 
our  affairs  would  render  me  thus  importunate,  I  must  also 
assure  you  that  while  those  affairs  continue  so  urgent,  I 
must  continue  to  importune." 

"  We  are  not  to  expect  perfect  institutions  from  human 
wisdom,  and  must  therefore  console  ourselves  with  the  de 
termination  to  reform  errors  as  soon  as  experience  points 


HIS   FAMILY   AND    HIS   FRIENDS  289 

out  the  necessity  for  and  the  means  of  amendment.  A 
whole  people  seldom  continue  long  in  error." 

"The  states  seem  to  consider  it  as  the  most  precious 
part  of  their  separate  sovereignty  the  power  of  doing 
injustice." 

"  Difficulties  are  always  to  be  distinguished  from  possi 
bilities.  After  endeavoring  by  your  utmost  exertions  to 
surmount  them,  you  will  be  able  to  determine  which  of 
them  are  insurmountable." 

"Confidence  is  the  source  of  credit,  and  credit  is  the 
soul  of  all  pecuniary  operations." 

"  Men  are  more  apt  to  trust  one  whom  they  can  call 
to  account  than  three  who  may  not  hold  themselves 
accountable,  or  three  and  thirty  who  may  appoint  those 
three." 

"  I  only  wish  that  every  member  of  every  legislature  on 
the  Continent  were  as  much  teased,  harassed,  and  tor 
mented  to  do  what  the  legislatures  alone  can  do  as  I  am 
to  do  what  I  alone  cannot  do." 

"  I  hope  the  people  will  at  length  distinguish  between 
those  who  admonish  them  to  their  good  and  those  who 
flatter  them  to  their  destruction." 

"  The  individual  who  declines  the  service  of  his  country 
because  its  councils  are  not  conformable  to  his  ideas 
makes  but  a  bad  subject ;  a  good  one  will  follow  if  he 
cannot  lead." 

"  The  inhabitants  of  a  little  hamlet  may  feel  pride  in  the 
sense  of  separate  independence.  But  if  there  be  not  one 
government  which  can  draw  forth  and  direct  the  combined 


290  ROBERT   MORRIS 

efforts  of  united  America,  our  independence  is  but  a  name, 
our  freedom  a  shadow,  and  our  dignity  a  dream." 

"  The  autumn  of  1781  found  America  in  the  situation  of 
that  part  of  the  federal  army  which  then  returned  through 
Philadelphia  from  the  capture  of  Yorktown;  crowned 
with  laurels  but  distressed  by  want." 

"  I  am  determined  that  the  bank  shall  be  well  supported 
until  it  can  support  itself,  and  then  it  will  support  us." 

"  This  language  may  not  consist  with  the  ideas  of  dig 
nity  which  some  men  entertain.  But  dignity  is  in  duty 
and  in  virtue,  not  in  the  sound  of  swelling  expressions. 
Congress  may  dismiss  their  servants  and  the  states  may 
dismiss  their  Congress,  but  it  is  by  rectitude  alone  that 
man  can  be  respectable." 

"  The  moral  causes  that  may  procrastinate  or  precipitate 
events  are  hidden  from  mortal  view.  But  it  is  within  the 
bounds  of  human  knowledge  to  determine  that  all  earthly 
things  have  some  limits  which  it  is  imprudent  to  exceed, 
others  which  it  is  dangerous  to  exceed,  and  some  which 
can  never  be  exceeded." 


CHAPTER  IX 

HIS    HOUSES   AND    LANDS 

PREVIOUS  to  and  during  the  Revolution,  Robert  Morris 
lived  in  a  house  on  Front  Street  below  Dock  Street.  In 
an  adjoining  building  he  hired  rooms  for  the  Office  of 
Finance  and  spent  the  first  few  months  of  his  administra 
tion  as  Superintendent  within  sight  and  hearing  of  his 
family.  This  was  his  city  home. 

In  1770  he  had  bought  a  farm  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Schuylkill  River,  in  the  Northern  Liberties,  about 
three  miles  from  the  Philadelphia  of  that  day.  The  tract, 
which  originally  comprised  eighty  acres  but  was  extended 
by  later  purchases  to  include  upwards  of  three  hundred 
acres,  stretched  south  from  the  present  Girard  Avenue 
Bridge  to  the  old  water  works,  and  east  to  the  Ridge 
Road,  and  was  known  as  "  The  Hills."  A  stone  mansion 
which  was  built  upon  the  knoll  now  called  Lemon  Hill, 
and  which  still  stands  there,  was  for  nearly  thirty  years 
the  favorite  retreat  of  the  Morris  family.  Thither  all 
their  guests  were  taken  to  enjoy  the  views  of  the  river 
and  the  rolling  country,  the  pure  air,  and  the  solid  com 
fort  of  a  well-administered  old  dwelling-house.  Over  the 
surrounding  slopes  imported  cattle  and  sheep  browsed. 
The  canal,  by  which  produce  was  brought  down  the 

291 


292  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Schuylkill  River  into  the  city,  passed  through  the  place 
for  a  distance  of  two  miles.  The  conveniences  and 
outbuildings  were  various  and  of  the  most  substantial 
character.  The  grounds  were  laid  out  with  all  manner  of 
trees,  shrubbery,  and  flowering  vegetation.  There  were 
hothouses  for  oranges,  pineapples,  and  other  tropical 
plants  ;  and  ice-houses  said  to  have  been  the  first  connected 
with  any  private  home  in  America.  The  gardener  had  a 
house  of  his  own  and  there  were  two  farm-houses,  one  of 
stone  and  the  second  of  brick,  so  that  the  lands  might  be 
divided  into  two  farms  if  it  were  necessary,  one  on  the 
east  and  the  other  on  the  west  side  of  the  canal.  The 
tract  besides  contained  a  large  coach-house,  a  spring-house, 
with  a  granary  over  it,  barns,  stables,  a  cow-house  with 
arched  doorways  (above  which  there  were  hay-lofts),  a  brew- 
house,  and  many  cribs  and  sheds.  The  land  was  in  the 
highest  state  of  cultivation,  being  planted  with  fruit  trees, 
grains,  grasses,  and  vegetables  under  the  care  of  the  best 
gardeners  the  country  could  provide.  It  was  "  a  spot  as 
beautiful  as  most  places  in  the  world,"  said  Mr.  Morris 
when  the  time  came  for  him  to  leave  it  for  a  prison 
cell.  Mrs.  Morris  found  peculiar  pleasure  in  the  estate 
where  she  delighted  to  be,  "  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  that's 
beautiful  to  the  eye  and  grateful  to  the  taste." 

Washington,  Jay,  Hamilton,  General  Greene,  General 
Gates,  Lafayette  —  all  dined  within  these  walls,  and  never 
forgot  the  hospitality  of  the  owner  of  "The  Hills,"  and  the 
beauty  of  the  scenery  which  nature  and  man's  good  taste 
together  had  prepared  and  stretched  out  here  before  them 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  293 

for  their  visual  delight.  The  mansion  was  always  open 
and  ready  to  receive  the  Morrises  and  their  guests,  being 
in  the  hands  of  custodians  and  servants  who  knew  that  its 
owner  was  likely  to  make  sudden  visits  in  chariot  or  upon 
horseback  at  almost  any  hour. 

Late  in  1776,  when  Mrs.  Morris  with  the  children,  as  the 
British  army  approached  and  Congress  and  the  people  of 
the  city  went  flying  helter-skelter  in  all  directions,  took 
refuge  with  her  step-sister,  in  Maryland,  Mr.  Morris,  dur 
ing  the  absence  of  his  family,  which  he  sadly  missed,  "  as  I 
had  never  parted  with  them  before,"  dined  at  "The  Hills  " 
each  Sunday.  His  horses  and  wagons,  loaded  with  the 
more  valuable  of  his  goods,  were  kept  in  constant  readi 
ness  for  flight,  had  his  agents,  who  were  posted  in  all 
directions,  given  him  the  signal  of  the  nearer  advance  of 
any  important  body  of  the  enemy.  The  alarm,  however, 
was  premature,  and  Mrs.  Morris  returned  in  March,  1777, 
to  remain  for  a  few  weeks  at "  The  Hills,"  until  Howe  again 
threatened  the  city,  when,  taking  all  that  they  valued 
most  of  their  household  effects,  both  in  their  city  and 
country  houses,  which  were  conveyed  in  a  caravan  of 
covered  wagons  out  the  pike  to  Lancaster,  the  family 
found  a  shelter  in  the  curious  house  built  by  Baron 
Stiegel.  This  eccentric  person  had  emigrated  to  America 
from  Manheim,  Germany.  Within  ten  miles  of  Lancaster, 
he  laid  out  a  town  which  was  named  for  his  native  city, 
building  an  iron-furnace,  glass-works,  a  Lutheran  Church, 
which  each  year  still  pays  to  his  heirs  a  rental  price  in  red 
roses,  and  a  great  house  called  "  The  Castle  "  for  his  own 


294  ROBERT   MORRIS 

occupancy.  This  building  was  of  magnificent  proportions. 
The  interior  was  palatial  in  its  appointments.  The  walls 
were  covered  with  imported  tapestries  of  the  most  costly 
kind.  The  woodwork  and  carvings  were  rich  and  artis 
tic,  while  the  tiled  mantel-pieces,  fireplaces,  and  floors 
were  all  suggestive  of  the  European  nobility,  rather  than 
the  plain  American  taste  of  an  unfortunate  period.  The 
castle  contained  a  chapel  in  which  the  Baron  held  ser 
vices  daily.  In  this  strange  but  luxurious  house  Mr. 
Morris  settled  his  family,  with  Congress,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  not  far  away,  first  at  Lancaster  and  then  at  York. 
Here  he  entertained  his  friend  John  Hancock,  and  light 
ened  the  anxieties  of  many  American  patriots  in  an  hour 
of  stress  and  deprivation  at  his  hospitable  board.  He 
remained  at  Manheim  until  Philadelphia  was  evacuated 
by  the  British  in  1778,  returning  to  find  "The  Hills  "  laid 
waste  and  half  ruined  by  the  soldiery  who  had  quartered 
themselves  in  the  buildings  and  on  the  broad  acres  of 
the  splendid  estate. 

The  family  continued  to  make  their  city  home  at  the 
house  in  Front  Street  until  1785,  when  Mr.  Morris  pur 
chased  the  three-story  brick  mansion  in  High  Street, 
which  five  years  later  became  President  Washington's 
place  of  residence.  This  house,  once  occupied  by  John 
Penn,  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  fire  in  1780,  and 
it  needed  extensive  repairs  which,  when  they  were  com 
pleted,  made  it  one  of  the  most  attractive  homes  in  the 
city.  At  about  the  same  time  Mr.  Morris  acquired  the 
adjoining  property  running  out  to  Sixth  Street,  into 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  295 

which  he  removed  his  family  in  1791,  and  where  they 
continued  to  reside  side  by  side  with  the  Washingtons. 
The  house  at  Sixth  and  Market  streets  had  been  built  by 
Joseph  Galloway,  the  loyalist,  and  it  had  been  confiscated 
by  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  property  of  other 
active  Tories,  from  which  Mr.  Morris  purchased  it.  In 
1781,  when  the  American  regiments  and  their  French 
allies  passed  through  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  Morris  and  the 
children  were  at  Springetsbury,  a  handsome  villa  near  the 
city  beyond  Bush  Hill,  built  by  Thomas  Penn,  where  they 
were  spending  the  summer  ;  and  one  season,  while  the 
yellow  fever  raged,  they  occupied  the  John  Penn  house 
at  Lansdowne,  to  which  Mr.  Morris  had  fallen  heir 
through  the  default  of  Greenleaf,  one  of  the  partners 
in  his  land  speculations. 

When  all  these  residences  lacked  in  suitableness  and 
variety,  there  was  an  estate  of  160  acres,  called  "  Trout 
Spring,"  in  Upper  Merion  Township,  Montgomery  County, 
two  miles  above  Swedesford  and  nearly  opposite  Norris- 
towii.  Upon  this  tract  there  was  a  grist-mill  in  addi 
tion  to  the  farm-buildings.  There  was  also  the  great 
tract  at  Morrisville,  in  Bucks  County,  at  the  Falls 
of  the  Delaware  opposite  Trenton,  comprising  twenty- 
five  hundred  acres,  which  Mr.  Morris  had  acquired 
during  the  war  at  a  nominal  price.  He  undertook  to 
develop  this  property  on  a  grand  scale.  He  made  an 
attempt  to  persuade  Congress  to  fix  the  Federal  capital 
upon  these  lands,  but  never  pressed  his  suggestion  nor 
did  he  seriously  entertain  the  thought  that  Morrisville 


296  ROBERT   MORRIS 

would  be  chosen  as  the  seat  of  government,  although 
he  was  frequently  charged  by  his  enemies  with  a  desire 
to  entice  his  fellow  senators  and  representatives  into 
voting  for  a  bill  to  carry  it  to  that  spot.  Morris's  tract 
at  Trenton  was  divided  into  fourteen  farms.  Here  he 
had  a  grist-mill,  a  slitting-mill,  a  rolling-mill,  a  trip 
hammer,  a  wire-drawing  plant,  a  snuff-mill,  a  mill  for 
grinding  plaster  of  paris,  a  hat  manufactory,  a  stone 
quarry,  a  forge,  and  a  malt-house.  In  fact,  it  was  a 
complete  industrial  settlement.  A  town  had  been  begun 
about  a  large  mansion  which  Mr.  Morris  built  for  the 
use  of  his  own  family  and  which  was  occupied  for  sev 
eral  years  by  his  eldest  son,  Robert  Morris,  Jr.,  who 
was  in  charge  at  this  point.  This  house,  like  the  Morris 
home  at  "  The  Hills,"  had  its  ice-houses.  It  was  sur 
rounded  with  beautiful  gardens,  and  there  were  stables 
on  the  place  which  were  reckoned  at  the  time  to  be  the 
finest  in  America.  In  the  river  there  were  shad  fish 
eries,  and  ferries  connected  Morrisville  with  New  Jersey, 
the  town  being  located  on  the  highroad  from  Philadel 
phia  to  New  York.  The  distance  from  Philadelphia  was 
twenty-nine  or  thirty  miles,  and  the  most  usual  method 
of  communication  was  by  the  river.  Mr.  Morris  sent 
furniture  and  supplies  up  the  Delaware  by  schooner, 
and  not  seldom  his  family  also  went  by  water  when 
there  was  hope  of  a  quick  passage.  He  personally 
looked  after  the  purchase  of  material  for  the  construc 
tion  of  the  town.  In  1795  he  built  a  large  engine  at 
Morrisville,  one  of  the  first  to  be  erected  anywhere  in 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  297 

America,  importing  an  English  machinist  to  execute  the 
work. 

About  the  time  Congress  voted  to  fix  the  capital  in 
Philadelphia  for  ten  years,  or  until  the  new  square  of 
ground  on  the  Potomac  could  be  made  ready  for  fed 
eral  use,  Morris  projected  his  great  marble  palace.  He 
purchased  an  entire  block  extending  from  Seventh  to 
Eighth  streets  and  from  Chestnut  to  Walnut  streets, 
and  engaged  Major  L'Enfant,  the  architect,  who  was  a 
little  later  to  achieve  his  reputation  in  Washington  City, 
to  plan  and  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building. 
He  was  regarded  as  the  richest  man  in  America,  and 
the  architect,  to  whom  large  liberties  were  allowed,  was 
concerned  that  Mr.  Morris  should  have  the  most  mag 
nificent  house  in  America.  The  Financier  frequently 
denied,  as  his  misfortunes  accumulated  and  the  folly 
of  the  undertaking  became  very  manifest,  that  he  had 
given  L'Enfant  authority  to  lay  the  plans  on  so  extrava 
gant  a  scale.  In  his  occupation  with  other  affairs  Mr. 
Morris  took  no  account  of  the  details,  and  when  the 
bills  came  in  and  he  was  unable  to  pay  them,  his  exas 
peration  induced  him  to  make  charges  of  deceit  and 
bad  faith.  Certainly  he  was  entirely  unprepared  to  see 
the  work  on  the  house  prolonged  for  three  or  four 
years,  and  even  then  to  find  that  there  was  still  no  roof 
over  the  structure  to  protect  the  walls  from  damage  by 
rain  and  frost.  Almost  every  ship  which  came  in 
brought  furniture  for  Morris's  palace.  His  agents  in 
Europe  were  given  a  free  hand  in  the  purchase  of  costly 


298  ROBERT   MORRIS 

material  and  fittings.  The  chairs  and  sofas  came  from 
Paris.  On  a  single  vessel  he  got  five  thousand  guineas' 
worth  of  mirrors,  but  the  house  was  still  not  ready  to 
receive  all  the  treasures  of  Europe  and  the  East  with 
which  he  planned  the  adornment  of  his  splendid  home. 

Late  in  September,  1795,  his  patience  was  quite  ex 
hausted.  The  Major  had  assured  him  that  the  house  would 
be  covered  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  but  it  was  urged 
that  no  marble  could  be  secured,  and  Mr.  Morris  instructed 
L'Enfant,  therefore,  to  run  up  the  walls  the  rest  of  the  way 
in  brick,  and  place  a  roof  over  the  west  wing.  He  had 
sold  his  house  in  High  Street,  and  was  obliged  to  rent 
a  residence  at  a  cost  of  over  ,£1000  annually.  If  steps 
were  taken  immediately  to  cover  a  part  of  the  building,  he 
calculated  that  he  would  be  able  to  occupy  it  in  the  follow 
ing  spring  or  summer.  "  Although  it  was  not  my  intention 
to  have  the  marble  you  have  introduced  into  this  build 
ing,"  Mr.  Morris  tells  his  architect,  "  yet  an  inclination 
to  indulge  your  genius  induced  me  to  permit  so  much  of 
it.  Had  you  executed  my  intentions  instead  of  your  own, 
my  family  would  now  have  inhabited  the  house  instead 
of  being  liable  to  be  turned  out  of  doors." 

But  the  work  still  went  forward  very  slowly.  Nearly  a 
year  had  passed  when,  on  August  15,  1796,  Mr.  Morris 
wrote  L'Enfant :  "  It  is  with  astonishment  I  see  the  work 
of  last  fall  now  pulling  down  in  order  to  put  up  more 
marble  on  my  house  on  which  there  is  already  vastly  too 
much.  The  delay  and  accumulation  of  expense  becomes 
intolerable.  The  difficulty  and  cost  of  getting  money  is 


•     '    -.       ) 

!    •  L;  I    « 

- 


§  i 


CO        <U 

So    2 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  299 

vastly  greater  than  you  can  conceive,  and  if  you  persist 
in  exposing  yourself  to  censure  and  me  to  ridicule  by 
alterations  and  additions,  you  will  force  me  to  abandon  all 
expectation  of  getting  into  the  house  and  to  stop  the  work 
which  I  am  unwilling  to  do,  if  it  can  be  avoided,  and  which 
can  only  be  prevented  by  economy  and  despatch."  He 
rolled  sheet  iron  at  his  works  at  Morrisville  to  take  the 
place  of  slate  upon  the  roof  in  order  that  the  rain  might 
not  beat  in,  but  in  May,  1787,  although  upon  his  own  esti 
mate  he  had  expended  ten  times  as  much  as  he  was  told 
the  house  would  cost,  the  roof  covered  only  a  portion  of 
the  building  and  not  a  single  floor  was  laid  nor  a  single 
wall  plastered.  In  this  house  Mr.  Morris  never  lived. 

Robert  Morris,  in  conjunction  with  his  partner  Thomas 
Willing,  had  early  purchased  an  indigo  plantation  of  three 
thousand  acres  in  Louisiana.  They  placed  negroes  upon 
the  land  under  an  overseer,  but  during  the  war  abandoned 
it,  and  after  it  fell  under  Spanish  dominion,  did  not  return 
to  claim  it.  He  had  had  other  early  experiences  as  a  land 
owner,  although  it  was  not  until  after  the  Revolution  that 
he  invested  heavily  in  this  class  of  property.  He  foresaw, 
he  thought,  as  did  many  other  Americans,  the  rapid  mate 
rial  development  of  the  whole  continent.  It- was  argued 
that  half  Europe  would  promptly  remove  to  the  United 
States  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  independence 
under  a  government  which  the  people  of  America  by  years 
of  war  had  just  succeeded  in  establishing.  By  immigration 
and  natural  increase  the  population  would  grow  at  an 
unexampled  rate,  the  wealth  and  resources  of  the  country 


300  ROBERT   MORRIS 

would  rapidly  unfold,  civilization  would  seek  outlets  in  the 
"West  and  South,  and  in  a  little  while  values  would  double 
and  triple  to  the  amazement  of  every  beholder. 

Mr.  Morris  was  absolutely  convinced  that  such  an  ex 
pansion  of  the  country  was  near  at  hand,  and  he  erred  only 
in  expecting  the  inevitable  result  to  follow  too  soon.  He 
had  taken  no  account  of  the  French  Revolution  and 
Napoleon.  He  had  not  by  gift  of  prophecy  been  able  to 
foretell  that  Europe  would  be  held  for  years  in  the  throes 
of  devastating  wars  when  men  were  needed  at  their  homes, 
when  land  could  not  be  sold  or  money  borrowed,  the 
whole  world  being  made  cautious  by  a  financial  strin 
gency  of  distressing  severity.  The  Bank  of  England  sus 
pended  specie  payments.  Interest  rates  were  driven  up  to 
a  usurious  level,  and  one  of  the  greatest  operations  ever 
planned  up  to  that  time  or  since  in  American  lands  was 
therefore  destined  to  fail,  carrying  down  in  its  vortex  the 
fortune  and  fair  fame  of  a  distinguished  patriot. 

His  friend,  General  Washington,  urged  him  not  to  em 
bark  so  extensively  in  the  enterprise,  not  only  because  of 
a  fear  that  the  load  might  become  too  heavy  to  bear,  but 
also  because  he  dreaded  complications  with  the  Indians, 
were  the  people  to  press  toward  the  frontiers  and  overrun 
new  country  too  rapidly.1  Gouverneur  Morris,  who  was  at 
first  interested  with  Robert  Morris  in  the  speculation, 
made  his  escape  while  there  was  yet  time.  A  few  of  the 
great  men  of  the  Republic,  who  had  assisted  in  its  upbuild 
ing,  were  involved  in  the  final  collapse  of  the  house  of 
i  Custis's  "  Recollections.'* 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  301 

cards,  but  it  was  with  two  men  little  known  to  the  world 
that  Robert  Morris  established  his  partnership  in  his  great 
deals  in  American  lands.  One  was  John  Nicholson  of 
Philadelphia,  one  time  Comptroller  General  of  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  other  James  Greenleaf  of  New 
York,  a  former  consul  of  the  United  States  at  Amsterdam, 
who  was  let  into  the  adventure  by  reason  of  his  lavish 
promises  to  secure  money  in  Holland  with  which  to  finance 
the  undertaking. 

With  or  without  these  men  Mr.  Morris  purchased  land 
in  all  the  unsettled  parts  of  the  Union.  The  magnitude 
of  his  transactions  is  not  easily  comprehended.  It  was 
a  season  when  land  agents  were  busy  in  all  the  principal 
cities.  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  the  leading 
marts,  and  while  the  titles  were  not  all  good  and  Mr. 
Morris  spoke  of  the  agents  with  not  too  much  respect  as 
"  hawkers,"  and  once  declared  that  he  would  not  "  buy  a 
lawsuit,"  he  was  in  the  main  an  easy  mark  for  any  one 
with  a  tract  which  was  for  sale  at  a  reasonable  price. 
Land  was  freely  offered  at  one  dollar,  two-thirds,  one-half, 
and  even  one-fourth  of  a  dollar  an  acre.  In  large  lots  it 
could  be  procured  at  a  still  lower  rate,  and  while  it  was 
far  out  of  reach  where  it  was  not  easily  inspected,  it  was 
fair  to  assume  that  it  must  sometime,  and  at  no  very  dis 
tant  day,  acquire  sufficient  value  to  make  the  investment 
very  profitable.  Mr.  Morris  was  most  attracted  to  New 
York  State.  He  owned  at  different  times,  in  tracts  which 
he  bought  and  rapidly  sold  again,  almost  the  entire  west 
ern  half  of  that  commonwealth.  He  afterward  declared 


302  ROBERT   MORRIS 

that  if  he  had  confined  his  operations  to  New  York,  he 
would  have  been  the  wealthiest  man  in  the  world.1  In 
1790  he  purchased  from  Gorham  and  Phelps,  the  owners 
of  an  immense  belt  of  land,  a  tract  containing  upwards  of 
one  million  acres  in  the  Genesee  country.  Mr.  Phelps 
had  been  connected  with  the  Commissary  Department  of 
the  Massachusetts  line,  and  Mr.  Gorham  was  a  prominent 
merchant  of  Boston.  While  little  was  known  of  the 
country,  Mr.  Morris  sought  information  about  it  of  several 
Indian  traders  who  came  to  Philadelphia,  and  sent  Adam 
Hoops,  who  once  had  served  on  Washington's  staff,  to  ex 
plore  it.  His  report  was  favorable  and  the  land  was  pur 
chased.  Mr.  Morris's  agent  in  London  was  Dr.  Franklin's 
son,  William  Temple  Franklin,  in  whose  hands  the  prop 
erty  was  immediately  placed  for  sale  for  a  sum  which 
meant  a  handsome  profit  to  its  owner.  In  1791,  although 
Morris  in  the  meantime  by  letter  advices  had  raised  the 
price,  young  Franklin  disposed  of  it  to  Sir  William 
Pulteney  at  eighteen  pence  an  acre,  and  in  honor  the  princi 
pal  was  bound  to  confirm  the  transaction.  The  tract  was 
warranted  to  contain  one  million  acres,  to  save  a  survey, 
which  made  the  transfer  price  ,£75,000,  although  it  was 
later  discovered  that  no  less  than  1,296,000  acres  were 
comprehended  in  the  limits  named  in  the  deed.  The  pur 
chaser  sent  to  America  an  agent  who  arrived  late  in  1792, 
and  who,  by  adopting  a  system  of  management  proposed  by 
Mr.  Morris,  was  soon  able  to  sell  off  a  large  part  of  the 
tract  at  a  rate  which  in  three  or  four  years  meant  a  return 
1  Dreer  Collection. 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  303 

of  about  $2,500,000  for  the  whole  investment.  The  fortu 
nate  experience  of  Sir  William  Pulteney  was  a  card  of 
some  value  in  the  campaign  which  was  assiduously  waged 
to  induce  other  capitalists  in  Europe  to  put  their  faith  in 
America.  Mr.  Morris  still  held  practically  all  the  state 
west  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorhara  line  to  the  Great  Lakes, 
except  as  his  claim  might  be  contested  by  the  Indians. 
In  1794  he  sold  more  than  three  million  acres  to  the  Hol 
land  Company.  By  this  transaction  his  interests  were 
transferred  still  farther  into  the  West,  although  he  re 
tained  for  himself  a  tract  of  five  hundred  thousand  acres 
known  as  the  Holland  Reserve. 

It  was  Mr.  Morris's  plan  in  all  his  land  schemes  to 
establish  towns  and  settle  the  surrounding  farms.  He 
preached  up  the  country  as  a  good  home  for  young  men, 
and  sent  out  his  son  Thomas  as  an  evidence  of  his  own 
faith.  He  had  hoped  that  emigration  could  be  started 
from  Pennsylvania,  but  a  wide  forest  separated  the  settled 
parts  of  that  state  from  the  Genesee,  and  hostile  Indians 
inhabited  the  intervening  country.  The  Pennsylvania 
Mennonites,  who  had  agreed  to  place  their  sons  in  one 
township,  abandoned  the  project. 

The  surveys  were  expensive.  Axemen  were  obliged 
to  hew  a  wide  track  through  the  forest  to  make  a  way 
for  the  engineers.  The  displeasure  of  the  Indians  in 
creased  as  their  lands  were  invaded  by  the  white  men. 
They  wished  to  be  protected  from  "the  big  eater  with 
the  big  belly,"  and  it  finally  became  necessary  to  call  a 
great  council  to  satisfy  the  chiefs,  several  of  whom  came 


304  ROBERT   MORRIS 

to  Philadelphia  to  present  their  grievances  in  person  to 
Robert  Morris.1  Mr.  Morris  was  as  skilful  in  dealing 
with  Indian  chieftains  as  with  most  other  classes  of  men. 
He  treated  them  like  princes  in  some  European  line.  He 
brought  Cornplanter  to  the  city  with  an  interpreter  at 
an  expense  of  about  8500,  entertained  him  at  his  own 
home,  and  sent  him  back  to  New  York  laden  with  pres 
ents.  A  meeting  and  an  indemnity,  however,  were  quite 
inevitable,  and  Mr.  Morris  laid  his  plans  to  make  his  peace 
with  the  Senecas  as  cheaply  as  possible.  His  son  Thomas, 
who  was  about  to  achieve  a  great  reputation  for  himself 
in  frontier  diplomacy,  travelled  on  foot  from  village  to 
village,  urging  the  people  to  come  to  the  great  council 
fire.  He  walked  unarmed  without  a  guard  except  his 
interpreters  from  Canandaigua  to  Niagara,  and  when  he 
was  done,  had  quite  won  over  the  Indians  to  the  proposi 
tion  for  a  conference. 

Robert  Morris  desired  that  it  might  be  held  at  Buffalo 
Creek  in  June,  1797,  but  this  date  was  too  early.  Liquors, 
tobacco,  and  presents  must  be  accumulated.  Representa 
tives  of  the  United  States  and  the  state  of  Massachusetts, 
which  had  territorial  claims  in  the  region,  must  be  on  the 
ground.  These  details  were  looked  after  in  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  Morris  was  to  have  met  President  Washington  at 
Mount  Vernon  in  the  summer  of  1796  to  arrange  for  the 
appointment  of  a  Commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  unable  to  go  South,  however,  and  the 
interview  was  delayed  until  the  President  returned  to 
1  Turner's  "  History  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham  Purchase." 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  305 

Philadelphia.  In  February,  1797,  just  before  the  Wash 
ington  administration  closed,  Isaac  Smith,  late  a  member 
of  Congress  from  New  Jersey,  was  nominated  for  the 
office.  Although  he  and  his  wife  were  entertained  at 
dinner  at  the  Morris  home,  and  Mr.  Morris  had  himself 
planned  to  accompany  Judge  Smith  "  in  order  to  keep 
him  in  good  spirits  throughout  the  fatigues  of  the  journey 
by  sharing  them  with  him,"  that  gentleman  declined  the 
appointment.  Colonel  Wadsworth  was  then  selected  for 
the  mission,  while  Massachusetts  named  General  Shepherd 
to  represent  her  interests  at  the  council  fire. 

Morris  calculated  that  in  making  the  treaty  he  would 
need  from  thirteen  to  fifteen  hundred  rations  of  beef, 
mutton,  and  pork  for  thirty  days.  There  must  be  "  rum 
and  whiskey  in  proportion,"  tobacco,  and  baubles  and 
gewgaws  of  various  kinds  for  the  women  and  children. 
The  meat  could  be  procured  in  the  Genesee,  but  the 
liquors,  tobacco,  pipes,  and  presents  must  be  forwarded 
from  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Mr.  Morris,  to  avoid 
being  known  as  a  party  to  this  form  of  bribery,  commis 
sioned  his  friend,  Tench  Francis,  who  was  sent  to  Boston 
during  the  Revolution  to  bring  the  French  money  by  ox- 
train  to  Philadelphia,  afterward  the  first  cashier  of  the 
Bank  of  North  America,  to  make  the  necessary  purchases. 
Two  large  wagons  were  sent  from  Philadelphia,  in  each  of 
which  was  loaded  a  pipe  of  wine.  The  remaining  space 
was  filled  in  with  porter,  spirits,  smoking  and  chewing 
tobacco,  pipes  of  all  descriptions,  bright-colored  cloths, 
and  showy  presents,  although  for  the  most  part  inexpen- 


306  ROBERT   MORRIS 

sive,  for  the  chiefs  and  the  squaws  and  children.  The 
wagoners  proceeded  to  Wilkesbarre  where  the  goods 
were  transferred  to  a  boat  to  be  carried  to  Tioga  Point. 
There  they  were  reloaded  upon  wagons  to  be  taken  to  the 
shores  of  Lake  Geneva.  Crossing  that  lake  by  sloop,  they 
were  again  ready  for  a  wagon  journey  overland  to 
Thomas  Morris's  house  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country. 

Robert  Morris  meant  to  have  this  work  done  well. 
The  meeting  was  fixed  for  August  20,  1797,  at  the 
uBig  Tree,"  and  he  built  there  a  council  house  which 
took  the  form  of  a  large  tent  covered  with  green 
boughs,  and  furnished  with  a  platform  and  seats.  It 
was  the  greatest  disappointment  to  him  as  well  as  to 
the  Indians  that  his  financial  affairs  would  not  permit 
him  to  attend  in  person,  but  he  gave  minute  directions 
as  to  the  management  of  the  negotiations.  If  the 
Indians  collected  too  early,  he  wrote  to  Thomas,  "you 
must  feed  them  well  and  keep  them  in  a  good  humor," 
but  he  preferred  that  no  liquors  should  be  given  them 
until  after  the  work  was  done.  It  was  usual  on  such 
occasions  to  have  "  a  revel  and  frolic,"  for  a  week  before 
business  was  begun,  as  a  result  of  which  the  savages 
became  dissipated  and  headless.  A  better  way,  he  be 
lieved,  would  be  to  parade  the  rum  and  whiskey  before 
them,  assuring  them  that  it  would  be  theirs  when  they 
had  finished  the  treaty. 

The  representatives  of  the  United  States,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  of  the  Holland  Company  arrived,  and  so, 
too,  did  the  Indians,  the  interpreters,  and  a  considerable 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  307 

body  of  frontier  traders.  Two  weeks  were  consumed 
in  fruitless  debate  with  Red  Jacket,  Cornplanter,  Little 
Billy,  Little  Beard,  and  other  Indian  orators  who  had 
much  to  say  about  the  seizure  of  their  lands.  It  was  here 
that  Thomas  Morris  displayed  his  diplomatic  skill  and 
won  for  himself  the  warm  encomiums  of  his  father  whose 
absence  made  the  young  man's  position  one  of  great 
delicacy  and  responsibility.  Although  Robert  Morris 
had  sent  a  speech  to  be  read  to  the  Indians,  they  wished 
to  treat  with  him  in  person.  With  whooping  and  yell 
ing  they  declared  that  "  the  council  fire  was  covered 
up  "  and  were  on  the  point  of  scattering  into  the  forest, 
when  Thomas  Morris,  by  the  diligent  use  of  his  persua 
sive  powers,  helped  by  the  liquor,  again  brought  in  the 
warriors  and  their  women,  and  induced  them  to  sell 
their  lands  for  $100,000.  Some  of  the  Indians  were 
promised  annuities  for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  The  suc 
cessful  negotiation  of  this  treaty  was  pleasing  news  to 
the  man  who,  by  this  time,  had  become  a  prisoner  in  his 
beautiful  home  at  "  The  Hills,"  lest  if  he  should  go  out, 
he  should  be  caught  by  some  vigilant  constable. 

In  1795  Mr.  Morris  laid  a  plan  for  increasing  his 
land  holdings  in  Georgia  by  purchasing  the  tract  pre 
sented  by  that  state  to  the  Comte  D'Estaing,  who 
commanded  a  French  squadron  sent  to  aid  the  colonies 
during  the  Revolution.  The  Count  had  just  been  put 
to  death  by  the  guillotiners  in  Paris.  He  died 
without  children.  His  natural  heir  was  the  Comte  de 
Colbert,  who  had  inquired  about  the  property  through 


308  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Mr.  Pinckney,  our  Minister  to  England,  who  in  turn 
directed  the  inquiry  to  Robert  Morris  as  an  eminent 
authority  on  the  value  of  lands  in  America.  Morris 
asked  his  agent  in  London,  William  Constable,  to  nego 
tiate  with  the  heirs,  whoever  they  might  be,  for  the 
purchase  of  the  claim  for  about  £4000  or  £5000.  His 
own  name  must  not  be  used  in  the  transaction,  but 
Gouverneur  Morris,  then  in  Europe,  and  his  son  Will 
iam,  might  be  taken  into  the  business.  The  latter,  if 
need  be,  could  be  sent  to  Georgia  to  attend  to  the 
recovery  of  the  tract.  Mr.  Morris  did  not  know  what 
the  property  was  worth.  That  it  had  a  higher  value 
than  the  price  he  proposed  to  pay,  he  was  fairly  well 
convinced.  "  General  Jackson,  the  senator  from  Georgia, 
says  the  estate  is  worth  £40,000,"  Morris  observed 
privately  in  his  letter  to  London,  "  but  you  know,"  he 
added,  "  Jackson  is  a  very  sanguine  man." 

As  soon  as  the  Congress  of  which  he  was  a  member 
decided  that  the  seat  of  government  should  be  located 
on  the  Potomac's  banks,  Morris  proceeded  to  invest 
extensively  in  land  in  the  most  likely  parts  of  the 
District  of  Columbia.  He  and  his  partners  purchased 
about  six  thousand  building  lots  in  Washington,  later 
adding  some  twelve  hundred  more  to  their  holdings, 
making  in  all  7234.  The  site  of  the  future  city  was  a 
primeval  forest.  There  were  no  houses,  barring  some 
cabins  for  workmen  and  negroes,  until  Mr.  Morris  began 
his  building  operations.  In  the  uncleared  wood  an 
Executive  Mansion  and  a  Capitol  building  were  rising 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  309 

out  of  the  ground,  but  progress  was  extremely  slow. 
A  young  Englishman,  Thomas  Twining,  who  was  travel 
ling  in  America  and  visited  Washington  at  about  this 
time,  relates  how  he  entered  a  large  wood  "  through  which 
a  very  imperfect  road  had  been  made,  principally  by 
removing  the  trees,  or  the  upper  parts  of  them,  in  the 
usual  manner."  After  a  while  more  order  was  observed, 
"  the  trees  having  been  cut  down  in  a  straight  line, 
although  no  habitation  of  any  kind  was  visible.  I  had 
no  doubt,"  the  traveller  continues,  "  but  I  was  now  riding 
along  one  of  the  streets  of  the  metropolitan  city.  I  con 
tinued  in  this  spacious  avenue  for  a  mile,  and  then  came 
out  upon  a  large  spot  cleared  of  wood,  in  the  centre  of 
which  I  saw  two  unfinished  buildings,  and  men  at  work 
on  one  of  them.  Advancing  and  speaking  to  these 
workmen,  they  informed  me  that  I  was  in  the  centre 
of  the  city,  and  that  the  building  was  the  Capitol. 
Looking  from  where  I  stood  I  saw  on  every  side  a  thick 
wood,  pierced  with  avenues  in  a  more  or  less  perfect 
state." 

Francis  Baily,  another  English  traveller,  who  made 
a  tour  of  America  near  the  end  of  the  century,  found 
the  Capitol  "in  a  great  state  of  forwardness,"  but  not 
much  more  than  one-half  of  the  city  was  cleared.  The 
streets  appeared  like  broad  avenues  in  a  park,  being 
bounded  on  each  side  by  thickets  of  trees.  "Were  it 
not  for  the  President's  house  and  the  Capitol,  you  would 
be  ignorant  that  you  were  near  the  spot  intended  for 
the  metropolis  of  the  United  States."  Mr.  Baily  saw 


310  ROBERT   MORRIS 

some  boys  kill  "  several  brace  of  partridges  in  what  will 
be  one  of  the  most  public  streets  of  the  city." 

The  only  hotel  at  which  travellers  could  find  a  com 
fortable  resting-place  was  at  Georgetown,  three  miles 
away,  and  there  the  charges  were  very  exorbitant,  about 
$4  a  day,  Even  in  1800,  when  the  Adamses  brought 
their  goods  from  Philadelphia  to  place  them  in  the  new 
White  House,  many  of  them  having  been  broken  in  transit 
over  the  "infamous  roads,"  the  city  was  a  wilderness. 
Mrs.  Adams  found  the  plastering  still  damp  upon  the 
walls  of  the  Executive  Mansion.  Not  a  single  apartment 
was  finished,  but  some  were  nearing  completion.  She 
dried  her  clothes  on  wash-days  in  the  large  audience 
room.  The  stairways  were  not  up.  Thirty  servants 
were  required,  but  there  were  no  bells  to  summon  them. 
Fires  must  be  kept  burning,  but  in  the  midst  of  a  forest 
there  was  no  wood  for  fuel.  No  one  could  be  had  to 
cut  it  or  cart  it,  and  the  price  rose  from  $4  to  $9  per  cord. 
One  hundred  bushels  of  coals  were  secured  for  the  Presi 
dent's  mansion,  but  there  were  no  grates  in  which  to  burn 
it  in  the  winter  of  1800-1801.  The  people  of  the  new 
Federal  city  were  finally  compelled  to  send  to  Phila 
delphia  for  wood-cutters  and  wagoners  to  come  into  this 
wilderness,  where,  as  Mrs.  Adams  remarks,  "you  could 
not  see  wood  for  the  trees." l  Her  visitors  travelled 
a  distance  of  three  or  four  miles.  To  return  a  call,  she 
complained,  consumed  a  whole  day.  Her  nearest  neighbor 
lived  at  a  lodging-house  a  half-mile  away. 

1  Letters  of  Abigail  Adams. 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  311 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  spot  capable  of  every  improvement," 
she  wrote  to  a  friend,  which  is  suggestive  of  what  another 
observer  said  of  Washington  at  this  period  of  its  history. 
After  reciting  many  of  the  discomforts  of  life  in  the  new 
capital,  he  sarcastically  summarized  his  impressions  by 
recommending  it  as  "  the  very  best  city  in  the  world  for  a 
future  residence." 

Mr.  Morris,  like  the  apt  land-jobber  he  had  come  to 
be,  was  blind  to  the  shortcomings  of  the  city  in  which 
he  had  financially  staked  his  faith.  He  erected  ten 
houses  in  the  summer  of  1797,  in  the  hope  of  increas 
ing  values,  and  had  constructed  perhaps  fifty  out  of 
something  less  than  two  hundred  buildings  which  were 
in  the  city  in  1800.  These  were  mostly  of  brick  and 
were  to  have  been  roofed  with  slate,  but  as  this  could 
not  be  secured  in  time  shingles  were  substituted.  The 
greatest  difficulty  was  experienced  in  securing  mechanics. 
Materials  were  expensive  and  scarce.  In  the  midst  of 
his  troubles  President  Washington  issued  a  proclamation 
regulating  the  style  of  house  which  any  owner  might 
erect  upon  a  city  lot.  "  I  wish,"  he  writes,  "  that  the 
President  had  abolished  in  toto  the  regulations  about 
building,  and  thereby  left  the  owners  of  lots  to  pursue 
their  own  fancies  and  inclinations.  This  I  conceive  will 
be  absolutely  necessary  to  give  that  spur  to  improvement 
which  is  wanted.  The  King  of  Prussia  tried  to  establish 
a  city  upon  the  same  system  of  regularity  of  buildings, 
but  with  absolute  authority  and  money  at  command  he 
could  not  do  it,  and  only  impeded  its  progress  by  the 


312  ROBERT   MORRIS 

attempt."  Mr.  Morris  did  not  himself  visit  Washington 
City  until  September,  1796,  when  he  went  to  remain  about 
three  weeks.  He  stayed  ten,  making  payments  to  the 
Federal  Commissioners*  dividing  tracts  and  selling  lots  at 
thirteen,  eighteen,  twenty,  twenty-five,  and  even  fifty 
cents  per  square  foot  which  before  he  went  to  see  them  he 
would  have  sold  at  six.  He  was  enthusiastic  about  the 
situation  of  the  city.  It  is  "  a  beautiful  place,"  he  wrote 
to  his  friencis;,  "I  ar#  delighted  with  it."  On  his  return 
journey  in  November  he  was  thrown  from  his  horse  al 
though  he  was  not  seriously  hurt.  So  tedious  were  the 
methods  of  travel  that  he  must  needs  expend  three  nights 
on  the  way.  The  first  found  him  at  Frederick  in  Mary 
land,  the  second  at  York-town  in  Pennsylvania,  the  third 
at  Petitts,  forty-three  miles  from  Philadelphia,  from  which 
he  set  out  at  five  in  the  morning  reaching  the  city  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  evening  to  find  the  sheriff  waiting  at  his  door, 
and  rumors  current  everywhere  that  he  would  never  return. 

In  1794  Morris  and  his  partner  John  Nicholson  organ 
ized  the  so-called  "  Asylum  Company,"  which  was  based 
upon  one  million  acres  of  land  in  Pennsylvania,  chiefly  in 
Luzerne,  Northumberland,  and  Northampton  Counties. 
They  built  a  town  on  the  Susquehanna  which  they  named 
Asylum,  and  aimed  to  attract  settlers  to  their  tracts.  A 
year  later  Morris  sold  his  interest  in  this  enterprise  to 
Nicholson.1 

In  1795  more  than  six  million  acres  of  land  were 
thrown  into  the  North  American  Land  Company,  includ- 
1  Plan  of  Assoc.  of  Asylum  Co. 


HIS   HOUSES   AND   LANDS  313 

ing  647,046  acres  in  Pennsylvania,  of  which  250,000  acres 
were  located  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  and  Allegheny 
rivers  in  a  country  not  yet  laid  out  into  counties,  much 
of  it  being  situated  near  the  present  site  of  Pittsburg. 
Morris  and  his  partners  owned  932,621  acres  in  Virginia, 
of  which  484,025  were  situated  in  Montgomery  County, 
717,249  acres  in  North  Carolina,  957,238  acres  in  South 
Carolina,  577,857  being  in  the  Orangeburg  district, 
2,314,796  acres  in  Georgia,  of  which  1,453,516  were  in 
Washington  County,  and  431,043  acres  in  Kentucky.1 

When  the  tracts  assigned  to  this  company  were  disposed 
of,  Mr.  Morris  was  still  so  extensive  a  landholder  that  he 
owned  real  estate  in  Pennsylvania  estimated  to  have  a 
value  of  $1,000,000  with  which  in  1797  to  organize  the 
Pennsylvania  Property  Company,  his  final  effort  in  a 
long  succession  of  struggles  to  save  himself  from  a 
bankrupt's  fate. 

1  Plan  of  Assoc.  of  N.  A.  Land  Co. 


CHAPTER   X 

EVENING   SHADES 

ROBERT  MORRIS'S  financial  misfortunes  did  not  descend 
upon  him  suddenly,  which  leads  us  to  wonder  why  he 
did  not  take  effective  steps  to  ward  off  the  disaster.  But 
he  had  started  on  his  downward  course,  and  one  event  after 
another  contributed  to  hasten  the  speed  with  which  he 
was  carried  to  the  end.  He  had  assumed  the  r61e  of 
the  rich  man  of  America,  and  it  was  costly  to  keep  his 
place.  One  speculation  followed  another  until  he  could 
go  no  farther.  No  more  taxes  could  be  paid,  no  more 
land  could  be  mortgaged,  no  more  could  be  sold,  and  while 
every  one  knew  that  his  vast  tracts  had  great  prospective 
wrorth,  the  state  of  the  times,  financially,  encouraged  no 
investor  to  submit  to  the  waiting  and  the  risk.) 

Already  on  June  28,  1787,  while  the  Constitutional 
Convention  was  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  Washington 
writes  in  his  Diary,  "Dined  at  Mr.  Morris's  in  a  large 
company,  the  news  of  his  bills  being  protested  arriving 
last  night  a  little  mal-apropos."  In  1789,  when  Morris 
wrote  to  Edward  Tilghman  in  regard  to  the  payment 
of  a  fee  for  legal  instruction  to  his  son  William,  he  said : 
"  My  natural  temper  which  is  generous  and  open  prompts 
me  to  offer  a  sum  beyond  the  common  run,  but  I  am 

314 


EVENING   SHADES  315 

constantly  checked  in  every  attempt  to  gratify  this  dis 
position  by  considerations  arising  from  the  misfortunes 
that  have  arrested  my  pursuits  in  business  for  three  years 
past,  and  the  consequent  embarrassments  in  which  I  am 
involved.  These  considerations  tell  me  to  be  just  and 
pay  my  debts  before  I  gratify  the  feelings  of  generosity." 
It  was  not  until  1794  or  1795,  however,  that  Morris 
experienced  the  full  force  of  his  misfortunes  and  follies. 
He  had  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  old  house  of  Willing 
and  Morris  to  John  Swanwick.  He  had  abandoned  the 
import  and  export  trade,  and  now  devoted  himself  solely 
to  his  land  operations.  Some  of  his  early  deals  soon 
after  the  war  closed  were  very  profitable.  His  buyers, 
whom  he  found  chiefly  in  Europe,  for  a  time  looked  with 
favor  upon  American  investments.  The  name  he  had 
achieved  for  himself  abroad  as  the^  Financier  of  the  Rev 
olution  caused  his  word  to  be  respected  in  all  the  money 
centres  of  the  world.  The  bankers  with  whom  he  dealt 
as  a  public  officer  continued  to  serve  him  and  forward 
his  operations  as  a  private  man,  particularly  in  Amster 
dam.  He  was  himself  a  firm  believer  until  the  last  that 
the  country  would  leap  into  wealth,  and  that  the 
world,  then  awry  because  of  the  warfare  of  the  nations 
which  had  been  stirred  up  by  Napoleon,  and  were  de 
spoiling  each  other's  commerce  on  land  and  sea,  would 
soon  again  pursue  its  accustomed  way  to  the  advantage 
of  all  its  inhabitants.  His  temperament  steeled  him 
for  such  experiences  as  he  was  soon  to  pass  through. 
His  very  hopefulness  was  the  cause  of  his  ruin.  "This 


316  ROBERT   MORRIS 

country  is  rushing  into  wealth  and  importance,"  he  wrote 
to  his  friends  in  Europe,  "  faster  than  ever  was  expected, 
by  the  most  sanguine  of  the  sanguinous."  "The  pop 
ulation  of  this  country,"  he  wrote  at  another  time,  "has 
now  got  to  produce  such  a  mass  of  young  people  who 
must  every  year  spread  over  the  uncultivated  lands,  that 
their  number,  and,  of  course,  the  increasing  value  of 
those  lands,  is  almost  beyond  calculation." 

To  China  he  wrote :  "  This  country  continues  in  the 
most  flourishing  and  thriving  state  of  any  in  the  world, 
and  promises  to  be  the  most  happy  asylum  for  the  dis 
tressed  of  other  countries."  To  a  prospective  buyer  in 
Europe  he  gave  a  glowing  picture  of  the  methods  which 
could  be  pursued  in  the  management  of  land.  After 
taking  up  a  tract,  he  observed  :  — 

"  Every  family  that  settles  gives  great  additional  value 
to  what  remains,  and  although  you  begin  the  sale  at 
one  or  two  dollars  per  acre,  you  end  it  at  the  rate  of  ten 
or  twelve  dollars  per  acre.  Numberless  are  the  instances 
that  might  be  quoted  to  prove  and  support  this  statement, 
and  amongst  others  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  by 
William  Penn,  which  went  through  this  same  process. 
I  know  lands  not  sixty  miles  from  this  city  which  were 
purchased  within  forty  years  for  <£10  per  hundred  acres, 
that  are  now  worth  and  actually  sell  for  £40  per  acre 
cash  down.  In  short,  gentlemen,  I  have  much  to  say 
upon  the  subject,  but  not  time  enough  to  say  it  in,  there 
fore  must  defer  enlarging  until  another  opportunity, 
which  will  occur  in  about  ten  days." 


EVENING   SHADES  317 

Morris  for  a  time  achieved  a  considerable  measure  of 
success  in  persuading  European  capitalists  to  place  their 
money  in  his  land  ventures,  and  in  1793  was  on  the 
point  of  carrying  out  some  very  important  deals.  It 
was  at  this  fortunate  time  that  he  commissioned  L'Enfant 
to  construct  his  great  marble  house.  He  expected  to 
receive  £75,000,  which  he  actually  did  receive,  but  as 
a  result  of  the  London  bank  failures  in  March,  he  was 
compelled  to  pay  £124,000.  This  burden  proved  to  be 
so  heavy  that  he  could  not  rise  from  under  it.  It  was 
the  real  beginning  of  the  series  of  events  which  led  to 
his  complete  undoing  and  ruin.  The  banks  refused 
longer  to  discount  his  bills.  Creditors  in  Europe  and 
at  home  were  clamorous  for  money.  James  Greenleaf, 
who  had  been  taken  into  their  partnership  by  Morris 
and  Nicholson  because  of  the  capital  he  had  promised 
to  provide  through  a  loan  in  Holland,  was  prevented  by 
the  French  invasion  from  carrying  out  his  ambitious 
plans.  No  course  seemed  to  remain  but  the  organiza 
tion  of  stock  companies  in  the  hope  that  shares  would 
sell  better  than  acres. 

The  Asylum  Company,  which  Mr.  Morris  established 
to  exploit  one  million  acres  of  land  and  draw  colonists 
into  the  unsettled  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  he  soon  trans 
ferred  to  his  partner,  John  Nicholson.  His  next  step 
was  to  organize  with  Nicholson  and  Greenleaf  the  North 
American  Land  Company,  to  take  over,  develop,  and 
sell  six  million  acres  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Kentucky.  This 


318  ROBERT  MORRIS 

was  a  bold  undertaking  which  deserved  success.  The 
capital  stock  was  fixed  at  $3,000,000,  or  a  half-dollar 
per  acre,  which  did  not  seem  to  be  an  excessive  estimate 
of  the  value  of  the  land.  To  be  sure,  Morris  had  lately 
exchanged  on  even  terms  seventy-four  thousand  acres 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  River  for  a  lot  in  Chest 
nut  Street  near  Seventh,  in  Philadelphia.  But  the  pro 
moters  of  the  company  did  not  propose  to  let  their  land 
stand  under  wood.  Young  men  were  to  be  sent  out  to  settle 
each  tract.  For  instance,  on  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou 
sand  acres  west  of  the  Allegheny  River,  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  managers  planned  the  erection  of  a  sawmill  and  grist 
mill  at  the  company's  expense.  A  surveyor  would  be 
placed  in  charge  of  the  tract,  building  himself  a  house 
and  plotting  out  around  it  five  hundred  or  six  hundred 
acres  as  a  farm  for  his  own  use.  In  the  vicinity  of  the 
farm  and  mills  a  town  should  be  laid  out.  Mechanics, 
such  as  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  shoemakers,  and  tailors, 
were  to  be  collected,  and  town  lots  sold  at  a  low  price. 
The  rest  of  the  tract  was  to  be  divided  into  farms  to 
contain  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  acres  each, 
and  to  be  numbered  when  they  were  plotted,  —  one,  two, 
three,  and  so  on  upward,  —  charts  being  forwarded  to  the 
officers  of  the  company.  These  farms,  Mr.  Morris  said, 
would  sell  immediately  for  $2  per  acre,  and  when  thirty 
or  fifty  families  had  settled  on  the  tract,  the  price  could 
be  raised.  The  land  divided  into  town  lots  would  yield 
still  larger  returns.  It  was  proposed  that  the  entire 
six  million  acres  should  be  developed  and  administered 


EVENING   SHADES  319 

on  the  same  plan.  Once  a  year  confidential  men  were 
to  be  sent  out  from  Philadelphia  to  the  different  settle 
ments  to  ascertain  whether  the  resident  agents  were 
doing  their  duty  by  the  stockholders. 

In  the  "  Plan  of  Association "  of  the  company  the 
subscribers  —  Morris,  Nicholson,  and  Greenleaf  —  ex 
plained  that  they  offered  a  scheme  whereby  "  all  persons 
who  have  money  may,  if  they  please,  participate  in  the 
advantages  resulting  from  the  purchase,  sale,  and  im 
provement  of  these  valuable  estates."  The  capital  stock 
was  divided  into  thirty  thousand  shares  at  $100  per 
share,  and  it  was  agreed  that  interest  should  be  paid  at 
the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  or  $6  on  each  share,  annually. 
Morris  and  his  partners  selected  a  Board  of  Managers 
made  up  of  prominent  men  likely  to  give  character  to 
the  undertaking,  and  specified  that  "if  the  cash  arising 
from  the  sales  "  did  not  amount  to  a  sum  requisite  to  pay 
the  interest,  they  would  themselves  "  advance  and  lend  to 
the  managers  such  sums  as  may  be  necessary  in  addition 
to  what  they  have  in  hand  of  the  company's  money  to 
enable  them  to  pay  $6  on  each  share."  The  titles  were 
vested  in  Thomas  Willing,  president  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  John  Nixon,  president  of  the  Bank  of 
North  America,  and  John  Barclay,  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Pennsylvania,  who  as  it  was  sold  were  to  con 
vey  the  property  to  the  purchasers. 

Offices  were  opened  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
for  receiving  subscriptions  to  the  stock,  for,  although 
Morris  expected  to  retain  one-tenth  or  perhaps  one 


320  ROBERT   MORRIS 

fifth  of  the  issue  for  his  own  use,  while  his  partners 
were  to  have  a  proportionate  interest,  a  large  number  of 
shares  were  placed  upon  sale  at  once.  In  March,  1795, 
Mr.  Morris  wrote  with  some  pride  to  a  friend  in 
London : — 

"  This  is  a  plan  of  my  own  forming,  and  I  am  willing 
to  pledge  my  reputation  and  everything  that  is  dear  to 
me  upon  the  success  of  it,  being  perfectly  satisfied  that, 
beside  an  annual  dividend  of  at  least  6  per  cent,  or  86 
on  each  share  every  year,  it  will  enable  such  dividends 
in  the  course  of  fifteen  years  as  will  return  not  less 
than  four  times,  and  I  believe  ten  times,  the  capital." 

Letters  no  less  hopeful  and  confident  were  despatched 
in  all  directions  to  bankers  and  capitalists  with  whom 
Mr.  Morris  had  business  dealings.  His  affairs  had 
reached  such  a  pass  now  that  he  knew  it  was  necessary 
to  spare  no  energy.  His  credit  was  tottering  on  the 
brink ;  one  step  more  and  it  would  fall  to  ruin.  The 
fortune  which  was  within  his  grasp  if  times  had  favored 
him,  and  he  could  hold  his  lands  until  their  value  had 
increased,  was  gradually  slipping  through  his  fingers. 
No  one  would  lend  any  more  money  by  regular  means  ; 
perhaps  some  could  be  induced  to  support  his  schemes 
if  he  should  invite  them  to  become  stockholders  in  a 
great  company. 

But  this  plan  was  also  destined  to  fail  promptly  and 
ignorniniously.  Stock  was  no  more  to  the  public  liking 
in  its  temper  at  the  time  than  the  land  itself.  Mr. 
Morris's  trustees  declined  to  serve,  alleging  that  the 


EVENING   SHADES  321 

use  of  their  names  on  his  prospectuses  was  entirely 
unauthorized.  Mr.  Barclay,  Mr.  Nixon,  and  Mr.  Willing 
were  his  lifelong  friends,  and  this  was  a  blow  to  Morris 
which,  if  he  had  not  already  borne  so  much,  and  had 
not  been  in  a  position  to  foresee  other  disasters  of 
much  heavier  force,  would  have  been  well-nigh  insup 
portable.  He,  however,  rose  to  every  occasion,  and 
struggled  with  all  his  powers  to  clear  away  the  obsta 
cles  thrown  in  his  path.  "The  land  plan  has  its 
enemies,"  he  wrote  to  Greenleaf .  "  They  have  been 
busy  to  prevent  the  trustees  from  accepting  the  trust. 
I  am  occupied  in  removing  the  difficulties,  and  plague 
enough  I  have  with  it,  but  I  shall  succeed  in  the  end." 
He  observed  that  he  must  now  seek  "other  respectable 
characters  to  supply  their  places."  After  Mr.  Morris 
visited  the  trustees  and  explained  his  need  of  their 
names,  all  agreed  to  serve  but  Mr.  Willing.  He  declined 
because  of  his  connection  with  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  whereupon  Jared  Ingersoll  was  appointed  to  the 
place. 

The  secretary  of  the  North  American  Land  Company 
was  James  Marshall,  who  had  just  married  Mr.  Morris's 
daughter  Hetty,  and  his  trip  to  Europe  was  mainly  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  stock  abroad,  although  he  had  a 
number  of  independent  tracts  of  land  for  sale  if  he 
should  meet  with  buyers  who  desired  bargains  in 
America.  Marshall  scoured  Europe  pretty  thoroughly. 
From  England  he  went  to  Holland,  then  to  Prussia, 
and  finally  to  Poland.  He  hoped  that  he  might  be 


322  ROBERT  MORRIS 

able  to  induce  the  oppressed  Poles  to  emigrate  to  a 
safe  retreat  in  America,  somewhere  in  the  fifty  wilder 
nesses  which  Mr.  Morris  would  have  been  so  glad  to 
transfer  to  the  outcasts  of  other  worlds.  He  met  with 
little  but  discouragement.  "I  think  I  can  perceive  a 
little  symptom  of  despondency  in  your  letters,"  Mr. 
Morris  wrote  paternally  to  his  new  son-in-law,  "but  I 
beg  you  not  to  give  way  to  it.  Keep  your  expectations 
alive,  and  never  suffer  disappointments  to  make  the 
impression  on  your  mind  that  would  lead  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  it  is  in  vain  to  seek  after  money  through  the 
medium  of  sales  or  loans.  On  the  contrary  cherish 
with  confidence  the  expectation  that  you  are  to  succeed, 
make  every  attempt  you  can  think  of,  and  one  day  or 
other,  perhaps  when  expectation  is  at  its  lowest  ebb, 
you  will  succeed." 

The  few  sales  Marshall  did  make  he  complained  were 
not  confirmed.  He  could  not  secure  titles.  Morris's 
affairs  were  so  much  involved  that  it  seemed  to  be 
impossible  for  him  to  extricate  tracts  for  purchasers,  and 
the  young  man  came  home  after  a  trip  of  two  years  by 
boat,  coach,  and  horse,  into  all  the  principal  financial 
centres  of  Europe,  where  war  and  revolution  did  not  at 
the  time  prevent,  convinced  of  the  futility  of  his  mission. 

Subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  Land  Company  could  be  secured  only  in  very  spar 
ing  amounts  either  abroad  or  at  home.  "The  result 
would  have  been  better,"  Mr.  Morris  observed,  "were 
it  not  for  the  cursed  scarcity  of  money."  The  only 


EVENING   SHADES  323 

purpose  served  by  this  enterprise  in  which  Morris  reposed 
so  much  faith,  was  the  creation  of  a  new  class  of 
certificates  with  an  appearance  of  value,  which  he  could 
send  to  insistent  creditors,  and  thus  postpone  his  inevi 
table  collapse.  To  Willink  and  Co.,  the  Amsterdam 
bankers  who  were  so  useful  to  him  as  the  Financier  of 
the  Revolution,  he  forwarded  one  thousand  shares  to 
cover  a  pressing  debt.  They  had  refused  an  offer  of 
city  lots  in  Washington.  His  standing  account  with 
them  was  so  large  that  it  called  for  his  immediate  care, 
but  even  when  one  creditor  was  satisfied,  a  thousand 
more,  both  great  and  small,  confronted  him  with 
demands  wherever  he  turned. 

The  most  serious  specific  trouble  that  overtook  Mr. 
Morris  after  the  London  bank  failures  of  1793,  leaving 
out  of  account  the  general  disordered  condition  of  the 
times  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  the  rascal 
ity  of  James  Greenleaf.  This  partner  was  the  constant 
bane  of  Mr.  Morris's  declining  days.  From  his  knowl 
edge  of  the  Dutch,  gained  while  he  represented  the 
United  States  in  Amsterdam,  it  was  expected  that  he 
would  be  able  to  place  loans  in  Holland.  That  he  did 
not  succeed  was  probably  not  more  than  a  misfortune. 
He  however  had  opened  credit  on  one  of  his  operations, 
with  Washington  lots  as  his  security,  and  as  Amsterdam 
did  not  honor  his  bills,  the  burden  fell  upon  Mr.  Morris  as 
an  endorser  whose  account  in  London  suffered  to  the 
extent  of  «£ 30,000.  The  blow  was  heavy  and  unexpected. 
It  was  a  debt  merely  of  honor,  but  it  must  be  paid 


324:  ROBERT   MORRIS 

if  Morris's  personal  credit  was  not  to  be  shattered  irrev 
ocably. 

Furthermore,  Greenleaf  did  not  live  up  to  his  agree 
ment  with  Nicholson  and  Morris  in  regard  to  payments  for 
his  share  of  the  land  purchases.  He  failed  to  pay  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Federal  city  for  lots  bought  from 
the  United  States  government,  and  even  kept  some  of 
Mr.  Morris's  money,  intrusted  to  him  for  that  use.  No 
course  remained  but  to  get  rid  of  such  a  partner.  Morris 
and  Nicholson  first  arranged  to  take  care  of  his  interest  in 
the  Washington  investment.  His  share  was  equal  to  each 
of  theirs  —  a  third  —  and  they  gave  him  notes  for  the  sum 
due  him,  by  which  means  Mr.  Morris  remarked  with  visible 
satisfaction,  "The  tables  are  turned,  and  instead  of  his 
being  our  debtor,  we  are  become  his  debtors."  In  May, 
1796,  they  purchased  their  delinquent  partner's  interest  in 
the  North  American  Land  Company,  and  were  at  last  free 
of  him  except  for  his  dishonored  paper,  his  suits,  attach 
ments,  and  unceasing  maledictions.  His  bills  continued 
to  come  in,  and  were  a  daily  plague.  On  May  26,  1796, 
Morris  wrote  to  Greenleaf,  "  You  will  observe  that  you, 
Mr.  Nicholson,  and  myself  are  all  liable  to  be  taken  by 
the  sheriff  at  any  moment  if  payment  is  not  directly 
made." 

But  to  urge  was  useless.  While  he  probably  had  noth 
ing  with  which  to  make  good  his  share  of  their  mutual 
debt,  he  was  indisposed  to  recognize  his  obligation  and 
missed  no  opportunity  to  embarrass  the  fair  progress  of 
his  late  partners'  affairs.  He  was  active  to  prevent  them 


EVENING   SHADES  325 

from  getting  the  certificates  to  their  Washington  lots. 
He  wrote  to  the  newspapers,  and  aired  his  alleged  griev 
ances  in  controversial  language  in  print.  He  spread  false 
reports  to  Morris's  detriment  in  Europe,  attacked  Morris's 
property  in  Holland,  and  after  he  was  put  in  jail,  was 
still  active  in  suing  and  instigating  suits  which  in  no 
long  time  brought  both  his  associates  in  an  unfortunate 
business  to  the  same  place  of  penance. 

Mr.  Morris's  disillusionment  was  gradual,  but  it  was 
complete.  On  March  6, 1795,  he  wrote  to  his  son  Thomas, 
"Mr.  G.  is  here.  We  are  cool  but  civil."  In  December 
Morris  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Greenleaf  was  "  too 
fond  of  himself  and  his  own  interest."  In  1797,  Green- 
leaf  had  "  a  knack  of  creating  mischief "  wherever  he 
turned,  and  to  Willink  and  Co.  in  Amsterdam  he  wrote, 
"  The  unhappy  engagements  which  I  had  been  tempted  to 
make  with  that  man  have  proved  a  source  of  vexation 
and  misfortune  to  me  beyond  anything  I  could  have  con 
ceived  possible."  A  little  later,  in  reviewing  his  various 
troubles,  Mr.  Morris  said,  "  This  miscreant  has  been  the 
principal  cause  of  all  my  late  embarrassments,  and  it  was 
the  most  unfortunate  act  of  my  life  that  I  ever  had  any 
thing  to  do  with  him." 

When  Greenleaf  was  at  last  in  prison,  it  was  Morris's 
and  Nicholson's  desire  to  keep  him  there.  On  October 
20,  1797,  Morris  sent  him  a  letter.  "  Notwithstanding  the 
many  provocations  I  have  met  with  in  your  conduct  toward 
me,  I  have  not  to  this  hour  brought  any  suit  or  suits 
against  you,"  he  observed,  but  since  he  had  learned  of  the 


326  ROBERT   MORRIS 

attachments  in  Amsterdam,  and  since  Greenleaf  was  in  his 
debt  both  by  bond  and  on  account  current,  he  gave  notice 
that  he  would  now  begin  process  for  "  a  full  and  fair  settle 
ment."  This  letter  as  was  foreseen  elicited  only  insolence  in 
reply,  and  there  was  no  remedy  in  law  and  not  much  solace 
in  public  temper  for  a  situation  that  was  rapidly  carrying 
down  to  destruction  the  one-time  great  Financier.  Mr. 
Morris  had  "  got  behind,"  he  explained  to  his  friends,  and 
he  could  not  "  catch  up."  "  You  must  know  that  it  is  not 
for  want  of  substance  or  inclination,"  he  wrote,  "  but  with 
ample  wealth  I  find  it  next  to  impossible  to  get  the  pos 
session  of  ready  money." 

To  Alexander  Hamilton,  in  a  letter  written  December 
15,  1795,  he  said  :  "  I  want  ready  money  sadly  but  it  is  not 
want  of  property.  Property,  however,  will  not  command 
ready  money  at  this  time  without  great  sacrifice.  I  do 
not  like  to  sacrifice  if  I  can  help  it,  because  I  have  worked 
hard  to  get  what  I  have,  and  will  fight  a  good  battle  to 
keep  it." 

The  sacrifice  was  indeed  great.  It  seemed  to  Morris 
that  all  wanted  to  borrow  and  none  to  lend.  Certainly 
not  many  lenders  were  now  willing  to  intrust  their  money 
to  him.  As  for  the  financial  distress  of  the  period,  Morris 
alleged  that  in  Philadelphia  "  the  like  was  never  known," 
which  was  also  the  testimony  of  James  Carey  with  refer 
ence  to  Baltimore.  On  temporary  loans  money  was  bring 
ing  from  two  and  one-half  per  cent  to  four  per  cent  per 
month.  "  Usurious  dealings  seem  no  longer  to  be  consid 
ered  disreputable,"  said  Morris.  "The  avaricious  spirit 


EVENING   SHADES  327 

of  these  times,"  he  sincerely  deplored.  "The  enormous 
usurious  premiums  for  temporary  use  of  money,"  he  com 
plained,  "has  introduced  a  spirit  of  avarice  which  never 
did  before  disgrace  this  country." 

"  Money  is  confounded  scarce,"  Mr.  Morris  declared  on 
another  occasion.  "  I  am  in  want  of  money,"  he  remarked 
again,  "  and  when  that  is  the  case  every  other  plague  fol 
lows.  I  cannot  raise  the  wind  fast  enough  during  this 
calm  in  the  circulation  of  cash,"  he  told  Benjamin  Harri 
son  in  1795.  "  The  distress  is  universal  so  that  one  knows 
not  where  to  seek  relief.  I  must  again  ransack  Europe." 
A  year  later  he  wrote  to  his  friend  Harrison  at  Rich 
mond,  "  I  am,  as  you  say,  beating  hard  up  against  wind 
and  tide,  and  I  fear  I  shall  be  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  steam  to  get  along  (for  I  am  building  a  steam  engine 
at  Morris ville)." 

Mr.  Morris  daily  reproached  himself  for  the  folly  of  his 
vast  speculations.  "I  am  latterly  become  so  fully  con 
vinced  that  much  wealth  does  not  increase  happiness,"  he 
wrote,  "  that  I  cannot  help  regretting  that  so  much  of  my 
time  has  been  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  it,  and  I  would  this 
moment  give  up  a  great  deal  of  what  I  possess  if  by  such 
a  cession  I  could  at  once  close  the  scene  of  business  and 
become  master  at  will  of  my  time." 

"  When  my  debts  are  paid,"  he  observed  again,  "  I  will 
remain  quiet  for  the  rest  of  my  life."  "If  I  can  once  get 
square,"  he  vowed  another  time,  "  I  will  never  contract 
another  debt.  ...  I  am  heartily  sick  of  toiling  in  this 
world  as  I  now  perceive  that  all  is  vanity." 


328  ROBERT   MORRIS 

"  We  are  all  well,"  he  said  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  "  and 
if  my  debts  were  paid,  I  should  be  as  happy  as  the  rest  of 
the  family."  In  April,  1797,  Morris  complained  to  one  of 
his  correspondents,  "  I  am  plagued  most  cursedly  for 
want  of  money,  but  since  the  Bank  of  England  cannot  pay 
[that  institution  had  suspended  specie  payments],  how  the 
devil  can  anybody  expect  that  individuals  should  do  it  un 
less  in  the  same  way  by  giving  a  new  for  an  old  note." 

The  situation  seemed  to  be  hopeless.  "  My  finances," 
he  said,  "  are  in  the  most  crippled  situation  that  I  have 
ever  yet  experienced,  and  this  so  publicly  known  that  it 
is  difficult  to  accomplish  any  money  negotiations,  for  con 
fidence  not  only  in  me,  but  between  man  and  man  even 
from  the  first  to  the  last,  is  so  totally  destroyed  that  those 
who  have  money  are  afraid  to  part  with  it,  and  when 
they  do,  it  is  for  high  premiums  and  tenfold  security." 

He  was  obliged,  however,  to  face  his  many  troubles. 
"  I  blame  myself,"  he  mused,  "  for  having  gone  so  deeply 
into  these  speculations  and  so  do  my  friends  and  the  world, 
so  far  as  it  is  known,  but  neither  their  blame  nor  my 
own  reproaches  will  take  me  out  of  the  scrape." 

But  when  the  night  was  darkest,  Morris's  courage  did 
not  wholly  desert.  He  took  frequent  vows  to  fresh  en 
deavors.  In  December,  1795,  he  wrote,  "  I  expect  before 
long  to  come  forth  in  triumph."  To  Nicholson  in  Au 
gust,  1796,  he  said :  "  I  am  sadly  plagued  for  want  of 
money.  We  must  work  like  men  and  clear  away  these 
cursed  encumbrances  and  satisfy  the  cormorants."  A 
year  later  he  was  still  courageous :  "  My  health  and 


EVENING   SHADES  329 

spirits  are  as  good  as  ever,  and  I  hope  to  regain  my  posi 
tion,  but  I  have  an  arduous  task  to  perform.  It  shall, 
however,  be  performed." 

He  continued  to  picture  to  Europe  the  allurements  of 
life  in  America  in  the  hope  of  persuading  the  people  to 
emigrate  and  settle  upon  his  lands.  In  a  letter  to  Leipsic 
he  said  that  he  considered  his  tracts  in  Georgia  to  be 
well  adapted  for  the  occupancy  of  the  poor.  They 
were  covered  with  timber  which  was  wanted  in  the 
West  Indies.  The  crops  grew  spontaneously;  not  only 
grains  and  vegetables  but  also  tobacco,  cotton,  and  rice. 
Cattle,  hogs,  and  poultry  throve,  and  took  care  of  them 
selves  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  needing  nothing  from 
the  owner  but  now  and  then  a  little  salt.  Lemons, 
"fine  oranges,"  limes,  grapes,  and  peaches  were  easily 
raised.  There  was  not  an  instance  of  a  poor  family 
settling  in  Georgia,  which,  if  it  were  industrious,  sober, 
and  economical,  did  not  in  five  or  ten  years  become  "  rich 
and  independent."  The  country,  Mr.  Morris  declared, 
"only  wants  to  be  properly  known,  and  it  would  be  re 
sorted  to  from  all  parts  of  the  world  now  overstocked 
with  people."  America  was  still  prospering,  except  for 
the  spoliation  of  her  commerce  by  the  belligerents  of 
Europe,  and  they,  he  concluded,  "  must  pay  for  it  by  and 
by.  This  country  is  growing  into  too  much  importance 
to  be  plundered  with  impunity." 

To  a  business  friend  in  England  he  wrote  in  the  same 
sanguine  spirit,  although  there  was  little  cause  for  hope 
in  his  heart:  — 


330  ROBERT   MORRIS 

"  Here  are  unoccupied  lands  in  this  country  to  an 
immense  extent,  capable  of  providing  food  and  raiment 
for  millions  and  millions  of  men,  allowing  to  every  family 
such  comfortable  space  that  they  will  not  be  willing  to 
engage  in  broils  as  they  do  in  crowded  Europe,  where 
air  and  subsistence  can  hardly  be  obtained  by  the  great 
mass." 

For  those  who  sent  him  their  duns  Mr.  Morris  had 
various  and  characteristic  replies.  To  Sharp  Delaney 
in  March,  1795,  he  wrote :  "  I  have  not  any  money,  but  if 
I  can  get  any,  you  shall  have  a  part.  Who  in  God's 
name  has  all  the  money,  for  everybody  seems  to  want?" 

To  another  creditor  he  wrote :  "  No  man  gets  money 
from  me  by  suing  so  soon  as  without  suit.  I  pay  as  fast 
as  I  can  and  am  always  willing  to  pay  when  I  can,  there 
fore  he  that  institutes  a  suit  against  me  throws  the  money 
he  would  otherwise  receive  into  other  hands." 

Ladies  were  somewhat  more  considerately  addressed. 
On  May  20,  1796,  he  wrote  this  polite  missive:  "Miss 
Cadwalader :  Mr.  Morris  presents  his  compliments  to  Miss 
Cadwalader.  He  would  have  replied  to  her  note  the  day  it 
was  received,  but  expecting  apayment  of  money, he  intended 
that  his  payment  to  her  should  be  the  answer,  but  a  dis 
appointment  has  put  it  out  of  his  power  at  present.  He 
expects,  however,  to  send  it  to  Miss  Cadwalader  in  a  short 
time." 

Late  in  1796  the  troubles  of  Mr.  Morris  had  accumu 
lated  to  such  an  extent  that  longer  to  contend  against 
them  was  obviously  a  hopeless  task.  By  messenger,  by 


EVENING   SHADES 

post,  and  in  person  creditors  presented  their  long  overdue 
accounts.  Notes  were  to  be  paid.  Interest  and  taxes 
made  imperious  demands,  upon  the  once  opulent  but  now 
thoroughly  distrusted  Financier.  Many  were  seeking  to 
recover  judgment.  The  Bank  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Bank  of  North  America  had 
gone  to  law  to  make  good  their  claims,  and  scarcely  any  one 
with  whom  Mr.  Morris  had  had  business  dealings  in  his 
recent  career  failed,  by  suit  or  common  dun,  to  bring  to  his 
notice  some  bill  which  there  was  no  money  to  pay.  Land 
was  being  sold  for  the  taxes,  and  every  announcement  of 
this  kind  wrenched  Mr.  Morris's  soul.  One  hundred 
thousand  acres  in  Georgia  had  already  gone  under  the 
sheriff's  hammer,  and  more  would  follow  in  a  short  time. 
"  That  unfortunate  building  on  Chestnut  Street,"  as  Mr. 
Morris  called  his  marble  palace,  was  suffering  for  a  roof. 
The  rain  was  driving  in,  to  run  down  the  unfinished  walls. 
In  vain  he  endeavored  to  get  the  workmen  to  continue,  for 
he  had  only  promises  with  which  to  pay  their  wages.  His 
family  was  then  living  in  Chestnut  Street  opposite  the 
great  unfinished  pile,  in  a  house  situated  between  the  resi 
dences  of  Mr.  Fitzsimmons  on  the  one  side  and  General 
Dickinson  on  the  other.  He  hoped  to  finish  the  rooms 
on  the  first  floor  for  a  counting-house,  and  settle  his 
family  over  his  offices,  completing  the  work  as  the  state 
of  his  finances  improved.  This  plan  also  failed.  He  how 
ever  was  able  to  employ  a  man  to  take  charge  of  the 
premises  and  prevent  prowlers  from  carrying  away  the 
things.  The  house  was  to  have  been  finished  in  1795. 


332  ROBERT   MORRIS 

It  was  a  mere  pile  of  walls  without  a  roof,  floors,  or  plaster 
ing  in  1797,  "  and  now  I  am  out  of  money  and  credit,"  said 
Mr.  Morris,  in  bemoaning  his  fate  to  a  friend.  "All 
stands  still,  and  unless  times  change,  the  work  cannot  be 
resumed  by  me.  Thus  you  may  judge  how  sufficiently  I 
am  chastised  for  my  folly." 

He  was  unable  to  pay  the  Commissioners  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  for  his  Washington  lots.  They  complained  to 
President  Washington  who  wrote  urging  prompt  payment 
of  the  sum.  Morris  was  compelled  to  explain  to  the 
President,  his  close  personal  friend,  the  General  whose 
operations  he  had  so  signally  forwarded  upon  the  battle 
field,  how  his  troubles  multiplied  and  how  he  lacked  the 
money  with  which  to  keep  his  engagements  with  the  United 
States  government.  This  was  one  of  the  most  humiliat 
ing  and  melancholy  experiences  which  had  yet  come  into 
Mr.  Morris's  life.  But  he  was  compelled  to  face  all  his 
misfortunes.  He  promised  that  the  money  would  be 
provided  as  soon  as  possible,  and  begged  that  the  Commis 
sioners  would  not  sell  him  out. 

The  French  Revolutionary  Minister  to  the  United  States, 
Fauchet,  who  followed  the  notorious  Genet,  caused  it  to 
be  published  in  France  that  Morris's  Georgia  lands  were 
not  fertile  and  were  of  uncertain  title.  This  charge  greatly 
annoyed  the  owner.  He  vigorously  denied  the  allegation 
through  the  newspapers  in  Europe  and  America.  It  was 
but  one  more  trial  for  a  man  who  had  already  borne 
enough.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  his  two  sons  William  and 
Charles,  through  their  wild  ways,  caused  him  incessant 


EVENING   SHADES  333 

anxiety,  and  the  yellow  fever  swept  down  upon  the  city  in 
its  most  virulent  form,  driving  away  the  people  of  the 
moneyed  classes,  so  that  it  was  the  more  difficult  for  him 
to  carry  out  any  financial  operation  to  avert  the  final  event. 
Morris  had  long  promised  himself  and  his  creditors  a 
trip  to  Washington,  where  his  partner,  Nicholson,  already 
was  employed  in  the  work  of  getting  titles,  selling  lots, 
and  building  houses.  But  the  same  unhappy  engagements 
in  Philadelphia  which  prevented  him  from  going  to  the 
Genesee  to  meet  the  Indians  in  1797  kept  him  at  home 
in  1796.  "  Our  numerous  and  perpetual  engagements," 
he  called  them,  but  he  broke  away  from  them  in  Sep 
tember.  It  was  said  in  Washington  that  he  was  afraid 
to  go  there  to  face  his  creditors,  and  before  he  returned 
in  November,  it  was  commonly  reported  in  Philadelphia 
that  he  would  be  afraid  to  come  back.  He  performed 
both  feats,  however,  and  survived  for  many  months  after 
the  experience.  His  return  was  accomplished  just  in  time 
to  prevent  a  "  domestic  attachment  "  on  his  property  which 
had  long  been  threatened,  and  to  dispel  the  report  that 
he  and  Nicholson  had  embarked  for  Hamburg.  In  his 
absence  rumor  had  increased  the  anxiety  of  that  innumer 
able  host  of  men  and  women  to  whom  he  owed  money.  He 
was  welcomed  home,  he  said,  with  "  the  severest  and  most 
urgent  duns  I  ever  met  with."  On  December  29  he 
wrote  to  Nicholson,  who  was  still  in  Washington,  "  Of 
all  the  bad  days  since  my  return  to  this  city  from  Wash 
ington,  this  has  been  the  worst.  It  has  been  both  danger 
ous  and  disagreeable  to  me.  Not  one  moment  passed  free 


334  ROBERT   MORRIS 

from  the  most  tormenting  importunities  of  your  creditors 
and  my  own." 

In  the  next  February  he  again  wrote  to  his  partner  in 
misfortune :  "  I  find  you  think  your  troubles  are  equal  to 
mine.  They  probably  will  be  so  when  you  come  here, 
but  at  the  city  of  Washington  it  was  Paradise  to  what  it 
is  here." 

It  was  in  the  last  month  of  the  year  1796  that  Morris, 
in  a  letter  to  his  son-in-law,  James  Marshall,  gave  signs 
of  departing  courage,  "  There  still  remains  a  hope  and 
barely  that." 


CHAPTER  XI 

AFTER   SUNSET 

THE  new  year  came,  and  with  it  suits,  executions, 
attachments,  and  every  device  which  the  law  of  the  day 
knew  to  plague  great  debtors.  Many  of  Morris's  cred 
itors,  especially  his  smaller  ones,  were  hot  upon  his  trail, 
and  were  no  longer  to  be  satisfied  with  promises.  His 
friends  forgave  in  their  mercy,  but  with  a  great  number 
the  humane  sentiments  had  no  weight.  His  expensive 
marble  palace  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  city  to  testify 
to  the  luxury  of  his  life.  He  had  but  lately  ceased  to 
import  the  costliest  furniture  and  silk  stuffs  for  his 
great  mansion  ;  indeed,  belated  consignments  were  still 
coming  in.  He  was  banqueting  all  the  great  men  of 
Europe  who  visited  Philadelphia  on  foreign  foods  and 
Mediterranean  wines.  The  extravagant  ways  of  his  sons 
were  topics  of  common  remark  all  over  the  city,  and  cred 
itors  not  illogically  argued  that  this  royal  display  was 
at  their  expense.  They  resented  the  relationship  the 
longer  they  pondered  it,  and  a  storm  was  brewing  which, 
while  slow  in  breaking,  at  last  descended  with  fatal  effect. 
Nicholson  kept  out  of  harm's  way  in  Washington.  "I 
am  left  to  be  sacrificed,"  Morris  wrote  to  his  partner, 
bewailing  his  fate.  "  I  hate  to  complain,  but  in  the  bitter- 

335 


336  ROBERT   MORRIS 

ness  of  accumulated  trouble  my  soul  must  have  vent. 
Which  way  to  turn  I  do  not  know.  You  have  suffered 
me  to  be  driven  too  hard  and  too  long.  .  .  .  Return 
to  your  family.  Besides  them  you  will  at  least  find  one 
real  friend  to  receive  you,  one  who  has  not  joined  the 
throng  in  their  cries,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  ready  to 
join  you  in  attempting  to  stem  the  torrent  or  turn  its 
course,  and  that  friend  is,  Robert  Morris." 

Nicholson  still  lingered  in  the  Federal  city.  "Pray 
come  on  hither,"  Morris  writes,  "  the  moment  you  finish 
where  you  are,  for  if  I  get  under  lock  and  key,  you  must 
then  expect  a  domestic  attachment." 

Nicholson  returned  to  Philadelphia  in  the  middle  of 
February,  1797,  but  in  March  went  back  to  Washington, 
where  the  partners  mutually  agreed  that  his  presence  was 
needed.  During  this  consultation  it  was  decided  that  a 
new  company  should  be  formed  as  a  last  effort  to  check 
the  sweeping  tide.  "I  confess,"  Morris  observed,  "that 
I  am  fearful  of  issuing  into  the  world  too  many  plans  in 
quick  succession,  for  although  they  may  all  be  good,  yet 
injury  may  be  done  by  one  to  another."  Nevertheless  in 
April  he  organized  the  Pennsylvania  Property  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000  represented  by  ten  thousand 
shares  of  stock.  This  company  took  over  such  lands  and 
properties  as  remained  to  him  in  Pennsylvania,  including 
his  beloved  estate,  "The  Hills  on  Schuylkill,"  and  the 
large  tract  at  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware.1  It  was  hoped 
that  by  this  operation  he  could  relieve  the  pressure  upon 
1  Plan  of  Assoc.  of  Pa.  Prop.  Co. 


AFTER   SUNSET  33 T 

him  by  the  mortgagees,  and  preserve  his  homes  and  farms 
from  sheriffs'  sales.  By  putting  up  the  shares  as  security, 
clamorous  creditors  might  be  temporarily  satisfied;  but 
this  enterprise  was  also  destined  to  have  no  result  except 
to  furnish  a  proof  of  the  determination  of  Mr.  Morris  to 
surrender  only  after  he  had  fought  a  brave  fight.  He 
resisted  with  obstinacy  the  partition  and  dissolution  of  the 
great  structure  he  had  erected  as  the  groundwork  of  the 
colossal  fortune,  which  he  had  hoped  to  enjoy  and  to  pass 
on  to  his  family,  even  after  all  reasonable  hope  of  succeed 
ing  in  his  task  had  disappeared. 

"  As  to  my  integrity  and  temper,"  he  wrote  to  Willink 
and  Co.,  the  Amsterdam  bankers,  "  no  change  can  happen 
in  either.  They  are  the  same  they  ever  were,  and  always 
must  remain  whilst  I  continue  in  existence."  He  offered 
his  unfinished  marble  house  partially  to  liquidate  his 
indebtedness  to  them. 

At  home  the  cordon  was  being  drawn  ever  closer  and 
closer  about  him.  At  last  he  was  obliged  to  take  refuge 
at  "  The  Hills."  Beset  with  fi.fas,  ca.sas,  and  bail-pieces, 
it  was  not  longer  feasible  for  him  to  appear  publicly  in  the 
streets.  He  was  scarcely  privileged  to  leave  the  premises, 
and  was  practically  a  prisoner  except  for  occasional  walks 
over  the  estate,  or  up  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  excur 
sions  which  he  enjoyed  between  the  visits  of  the  city 
constables. 

"Here  we  are,  that  is  J.  N.  and  R.  M.,  doing  penance 
for  our  sins,"  Mr.  Morris  observes  in  his  Diary  on  June 
28,  1797.  Both  of  these  splendid  bankrupts,  the  largest 


338  ROBERT   MORRIS 

and  most  genteel  which  the  eighteenth  century  had  pro 
duced  in  America,  were  now  penned  up  at  the  estate  so 
much  loved  and  adored  by  its  owner,  and  by  the  greatest 
of  Europe  and  the  United  States,  whom  he  had  so  often 
dined  at  the  hospitable  board  within  its  square  walls. 
Lately  free  and  prodigal,  with  visions  of  unlimited  wealth, 
they  now  complained  that  it  was  with  difficulty  they  could 
get  enough  money  to  go  to  market  to  procure  food  for 
their  families.  To  this  retreat  Morris  removed  all  his 
books  and  papers  from  his  counting-house.  In  this  situa 
tion  he  was  able  to  indulge  his  philosophy,  ponder  his  life, 
and  employ  his  ready  wit  which  never  deserted  him  in  his 
most  unfortunate  hour.  The  members  of  his  family  came 
to  visit  him  frequently,  and  sometimes  all  were  around 
him  to  administer  such  consolation  as  could  be  got  out  of 
ruin  and  an  impending  term  in  a  public  prison.  He 
retained  his  gardener,  James,  and  carriages  and  horses 
still  awaited  his  command  in  the  stables.  His  son  William, 
who  was  soon  to  fall  a  victim  of  the  fever,  and  who  earlier 
had  greatly  displeased  his  father  by  his  idleness  and  dissi 
pation,  now  supported  him  manfully  with  valued  legal 
advice.  The  Marshalls  returned  from  Europe  in  Novem 
ber,  1797.  They  and  their  children  and  Mrs.  Morris  made 
bright  more  than  one  dreary  day.  His  grandchildren,  the 
two  Marshall  boys,  who  were  born  in  Europe,  were  a  great 
delight  to  him.  He  found  them  "  as  hearty  as  bucks  and 
as  playful  as  kittens,  but  more  mischievous."  The  loyalty 
of  the  family  for  which  he  had  done  so  much  out  of  his 
generous  soul,  so  long  as  he  had  the  means  and  ability, 


AFTER   SUNSET  339 

and  for  whose  future  comfort  and  independence  he  had 
taken  his  great  risks,  was  steadfast.  No  lesson  in  Mr. 
Morris's  life  is  more  wholesome,  and  no  monument  to  him 
more  lasting,  than  the  love  and  devotion  which  the  mem 
bers  of  this  family  exhibited  in  and  out  of  season,  one  for 
another,  with  him  as  the  chief  exemplar  and  the  central 
object. 

Once  during  this  period  of  trial,  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis  paid  Mr.  Morris  a  visit.  "  I  was  happy  in 
the  company  of  Master  Custis  yesterday,"  he  writes  in 
a  letter  to  General  Washington.  "  He  is  a  manly,  fine 
fellow."  The  boy  long  remembered  Mr.  Morris's  kind 
nesses  to  him,  and  the  Financier's  memory  never  lacked 
a  warm  defender  so  long  as  Mr.  Custis  lived. 

Morris  and  Nicholson  faced  their  misfortunes  together 
without  disagreement  or  dispute.  They  had  together 
striven  to  avert  their  disasters,  and  failing,  were  still 
friends,  neither  blaming  or  reproaching  the  other  for  the 
result.  They  trusted  each  other  and  liked  each  other, 
their  friendship  being  deeper  than  a  business  relation 
requires.  Mr.  Morris  had  urged  Nicholson  to  leave 
Washington  to  its  fate,  which  was  more  because  he 
wished  the  personal  companionship  of  his  partner  than 
through  lack  of  faith  in  the  sincerity  of  his  promise  to 
return.  It  was  certain  that  Nicholson  would  come  back 
to  share  the  penalties  of  their  mutual  follies,  but  Morris 
wanted  him  at  "  The  Hills  "  every  day,  where  they  could 
together  converse  and  ponder  over  their  unhappy  adven 
tures.  It  was  too  late  now  for  concern  about  such  trifles 


340  ROBERT   MORRIS 

as  the  Washington  lots.  More  important  sacrifices  were 
being  made  daily  and  hourly  because  of  their  financial 
delinquencies,  and  Nicholson  came  home  to  spend  the 
summer  of  1797  in  Morris's  square  mansion  among  the 
trees  overlooking  the  Schuylkill  River. 

One  day  late  in  August,  however,  Nicholson  received 
word  that  the  sheriff's  men  had  laid  their  plans  soon  to 
visit  "  The  Hills "  to  make  him  a  prisoner.  Morris  ar 
ranged,  therefore,  that  his  fellow  in  limbo  should  have  safe 
conduct  to  another  house,  promising  not  to  reveal  the 
retreat  until  his  own  personal  safety  should  make  it 
necessary.  From  this  temporary  haven  Nicholson  soon 
made  his  way  to  his  own  home  which  he  amusingly 
dubbed  "  Castle  Defence."  Morris  named  "  The  Hills" 
"  Castle  Defiance,"  and  the  two  began  a  long  and  curious 
struggle,  frequently  communicating  with  each  other  by 
messenger  though  they  rarely  met,  with  the  lynx-eyed 
constables  to  test  the  virtue  of  that  old  adage  that  a 
man's  house  is  his  castle. 

It  was  the  year  marked  by  a  recurrence  of  the  disease 
which  repeatedly  swept  the  city  like  a  plague  near  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Nicholson  left  "  my 
castle,"  Morris  observes  with  a  full  flow  of  his  native 
humor,  to  take  up  residence  in  his  own  house  "  with 
yellow  fever  in  his  neighborhood.  But,  as  he  admits,  not 
a  soul  to  come  near,  he  runs  no  risque  of  contagion."  "  I 
hate  the  sight  of  a  letter  unless  from  you,"  Morris  wrote 
one  day  to  the  partner  in  his  speculations  and  his  miseries, 
"and  even  yours  cannot  administer  comfort  to  R.  M." 


AFTER   SUNSET  341 

The  days  passed  and  ran  into  weeks  and  months. 
"  How  long  I  am  to  remain  here  I  cannot  yet  tell,"  he  re 
marks,  "  but  whilst  I  am  here  I  make  myself  as  comfort 
able  and  as  easy  as  I  can,  and  I  will  get  matters  arranged 
as  soon  as  possible  with  those  who  cause  me  to  be  here." 

"Here  is  a  fine  day  for  those  who  can  go  out  in  the 
open  air  to  enjoy  it,"  wrote  Morris  one  morning  while  a 
prisoner  in  his  luxurious  home.  "  Good  night,"  he  con 
cluded  a  letter  to  Nicholson  in  the  last  months  of  1797 ; 
"  I  am  here  at  nine  o'clock  with  a  good  coal  fire  and  a 
northwester  whistling  outside." 

In  a  letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  in  Virginia,  he 
mused,  "  Hope,  the  last  resource  of  the  unfortunate, 
stands  by  me,  and  so  long  as  that  goddess  is  my  com 
panion,  I  shall  fight  a  stout  battle  until  we  get  another 
associate,  which  is  comfort." 

During  these  months  "  The  Hills  "  was  a  veritable  Mecca 
for  his  creditors.  They  came  daily,  or  sent  their  demands 
by  messengers,  lawyers,  or  deputy  sheriffs.  To  many 
Mr.  Morris  was  not  at  home ;  with  others  he  conversed 
out  of  his  second-story  windows.  "  This  bad  weather 
is  unfortunate,"  he  wrote  on  November  22,  "as  it  pre 
vents  anybody  but  duns  coming  hither,  and  as  to  them, 
nothing  can  keep  them  away." 

To  many  of  his  pursuers  he  made  written  answers. 
"If  you  had  spared  some  of  the  epithets  in  your  letter 
of  the  llth  inst.,"  he  remarks  to  one  correspondent, 
"it  would  have  been  less  offensive  to  us  and  of  no 
injury  to  you."  On  October  18,  1797,  he  wrote  to 


342  ROBERT   MORRIS 

George  Harrison:  "I  have  no  money  nor  any  prospect 
of  receiving  it.  Frequently  distressed  for  the  means  of 
subsistence,  I  cannot  borrow  for  nobody  will  lend.  I 
cannot  sell  anything  that  will  command  money.  This 
being  my  real  situation,  I  do  not  see  a  possibility  of  my 
being  able  to  pay  the  small  note  you  mention  of  $336 
which  you  say  will  become  due  next  month." 

The  only  security  he  could  offer  to  those  who  pressed 
their  claims  was  stock  in  the  North  American  Land 
Company  and  the  Pennsylvania  Property  Company,  and 
no  confidence  was  publicly  expressed  in  either  of  those 
ill-starred  enterprises. 

But  others  as  well  as  duns  must  repair  to  "  The  Hills  " 
if  they  wished  to  see  Mr.  Morris.  He  could  not  go  to 
them.  "I  need  not  tell  you  how  happy  I  should  be  to 
wait  on  you,"  he  wrote  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  with  whom  it  was  necessary  to  perfect 
certain  plans  for  investing  the  funds  of  the  Seneca  In 
dians,  "but  as  that  is  not  in  my  power,  I  am  compelled 
to  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  give  me  a  call  at  this  place." 
He  promised  to  send  his  son  to  show  Mr.  Wolcott  the 
way.  Another  time  a  young  Englishman,  who  meant 
soon  to  visit  Mount  Vernon,  recommended  to  Mr.  Morris 
by  Richard  Penn,  called  to  secure  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  General  Washington.  The  young  man  "  could  not 
return  contented  without  seeing  the  saviour  of  this 
country,"  Mr.  Morris  writes,  wherefore  the  Finan 
cier  cheerfully  complied  with  the  request.  In  conclud 
ing  his  letter,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  misfortunes  and 


AFTER   SUNSET  343 

dangers,  he  prays  that  his  respects  may  be  presented  to 
Mrs.  Washington  and  Miss  Custis,  and  that  "you  will 
ever  believe  me  to  be  with  sincere  attachment,  dear  Sir, 
yours,  etc.,  Robert  Morris." 

His  property  was  now  being  scattered  to  the  winds. 
Two  hundred  thousand  acres,  which  had  cost  him  $27,000, 
had  just  been  sold  in  North  Carolina  for  one  year's  taxes. 
"  By  heaven !  there  is  no  bearing  with  these  things ! " 
he  exclaims ;  "  I  believe  I  shall  go  mad.  Every  day 
brings  forward  scenes  and  troubles  almost  insupport 
able."  The  new  and  half-finished  houses  he  had  built 
in  Washington  were  being  occupied  by  squatters  and 
plundered  of  every  portable  thing  they  contained. 
"  Alas !  poor  Washington,"  he  writes  to  Nicholson  late 
in  November,  1797,  "  how  much  we  overrated  thy  square 
feet  when  marching  over  thy  avenues  and  streets." 

His  Philadelphia  property  was  advertised  for  sale  to 
satisfy  executions.  He  wrote  to  the  sheriff  asking  him 
to  take  the  marble  house  in  Chestnut  Street  if  he  must, 
but  to  spare  "The  Hills."  But  everything  must  go. 
The  sheriff  had  just  seized  a  chariot,  "one  of  the  best 
that  ever  was  built  in  America,"  he  observed  as  it  was 
taken  away  to  be  thrown  into  that  vortex  which  swept 
out  of  sight  everything  he  possessed  and  called  aloud 
for  greater  sacrifice. 

"No  man,"  he  writes  to  Nicholson,  "can  be  more 
strongly  impressed  than  I  am  with  the  cruelty  of  our  situa 
tion,  which  exposes  us  to  the  loss  of  an  immense  fortune 
merely  from  the  caprice  and  whims  of  overcautious  indi- 


344  ROBERT   MORRIS 

viduals  who  think  there  is  no  safety  in  the  value  of  lots  or 
lands."  But  the  situation  grew  steadily  worse.  It  daily 
became  more  and  more  difficult  to  find  bail  money.  Morris 
did  not  any  longer  dare  to  step  outside  his  house.  His 
main  occupation  was  peering  through  the  crevices  in  the 
shutters  for  sheriffs  and  spies  who  lurked  behind  the  trees. 
A  constable  named  Hunt  caused  him  much  anxiety.  In 
his  hands  several  cases  had  been  placed.  "  I  must  look 
sharp  for  Mr.  Hunt,"  Morris  observed,  "  he  is  as  cunning 
and  active  as  Lucifer,  I  am  told,  and  he  will  be  offered  a 
considerable  premium  for  taking  us." 

But  Hunt,  in  spite  of  his  agility,  did  not  succeed  in  his 
task,  nor  did  two  creditors  who  came  for  the  same  purpose 
with  the  necessary  officers  and  writs  on  the  morning  of 
November  24.  They  had  made  a  bed  of  leaves  in  an  old 
quarry  called  Blackbeard's  Hole,  and  meant  to  make  them 
selves  comfortable  there  until,  catching  Morris  outside  the 
door,  they  could  place  him  under  arrest.  James,  the  gar 
dener,  always  faithful  to  his  old  employer,  in  spite  of  all 
temptation,  warned  his  master  in  time  to  prevent  the  suc 
cess  of  this  skilful  undertaking. 

Morris  at  length  rigged  up  a  "  peep  hole."  On  Decem 
ber  2  he  writes  in  his  Diary,  "  I  have  been  very  busy  this 
morning  watching  the  man  that  is  watching  me."  Again 
the  dogs  gave  the  alarm,  and  on  December  15  the  gar 
deners  drove  off  some  men  who  had  been  lurking  about  all 
night.  Their  fire  was  discovered  among  the  rocks  on  the 
riverside  where  they  had  warmed  themselves  during  their 
wintry  vigil. 


AFTER   SUNSET  345 

Again  an  officer  named  Dunwoody  came  with  six  men, 
two  of  whom  he  kept  out  of  sight  in  a  copse  of  wood. 
The  party  was  armed  with  sledge-hammers  and  pickaxes, 
and  it  was  only  after  much  diplomacy  and  no  little  threat 
that  they  were  persuaded  to  abandon  their  intention  of 
breaking  into  the  house.  It  was  not  so  simple  as  it  seemed 
to  storm  "  Castle  Defiance,"  and  take  its  lord  proprietor. 
The  mansion  not  only  had  its  dogs  and  its  gardeners  but 
it  was  also  liberally  supplied  with  firearms  which  visitors 
well  understood  were  near  at  hand,  and  ready  for  use 
against  those  who  menaced  the  life  or  liberties  of  the 
owner  of  the  estate.  On  December  2,  1797,  Morris  burst 
forth :  "  I  am  beset  with  deputations,  bribery,  and  spies, 
and  my  property  selling  and  sacrificing  everywhere,  and 
those  whose  happiness  I  wish  to  promote  suffering  by  their 
engagements  for  me.  If  ever  I  could  have  had  a  previous 
idea  of  such  things  happening  to  me,  I  would  sooner  have 
wheeled  oysters  all  my  days  than  incurred  the  risk." 

His  perils  increased  constantly.  George  Eddy  was  a 
small  creditor,  but  he  was  vicious  and  unyielding  in  his 
pursuit.  From  him  a  letter  was  received  on  January  31, 
1798.  It  was  the  birthday  of  the  bankrupt  Financier. 
"  Perhaps  it  is  right,"  Mr.  Morris  observes  with  this  fact  in 
mind,  "  that  I  should  be  fretted  and  vexed  on  this  the  an 
niversary  of  the  day  on  which  I  was  born,  as  it  would  have 
been  far  better  never  to  have  seen  light  than  at  this  time 
of  life  to  experience  what  day  by  day  I  go  through." 

Eddy  was  quite  determined  to  put  Morris  in  "Prune 
Street,"  which  was  the  popular  name  given  to  the  debtors' 


346  ROBERT   MORRIS 

apartments  in  the  old  prison  at  Walnut  and  Sixth  streets. 
The  building  ran  through  to  Prune,  now  Locust,  Street, 
and  prisoners  who  were  taken  for  debt  were  placed  for 
safe-keeping  in  that  end  of  the  jail.  Others  pitied  and 
hesitated,  but  Eddy  was  relentless.  The  waiting  had  been 
long,  and  while  there  was  no  prospect  of  escaping  the  final 
penalty  since  the  laws  of  the  time  regarding  debtors  were 
unforgiving  and  harsh,  Morris's  sanguine  nature  had  kept 
him  from  dwelling  upon  his  inevitable  fate.  Now  it 
seemed  very  near. 

"  My  mind  is  so  much  disturbed  about  going  to  prison," 
he  wrote  to  Nicholson  in  January,  "that  I  do  not  get 
along  with  business.  Indeed,  I  hardly  think  it  worth 
while  any  longer  to  submit  to  the  drudgery  of  it."  He 
wished  to  see  the  Genesee  country,  where  his  son  Thomas 
was,  and  settle  there  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days.  "  Here 
is  a  new  month  begun,"  he  writes  Nicholson  on  February 
1,  1798,  "  and  if  you  and  I  can  weather  this  and  the  next, 
we  may  live  forever." 

The  situation  was  desperate  indeed.  Those  who  had 
entered  "  special  bail "  were  pressing  him  hard.  Either 
creditors  who  brought  the  suits  must  be  satisfied,  or  he 
must  give  himself  up  to  the  law's  rough  processes. 
Letters  came,  in  which  he  "read  Prune  Street  in  every 
line."  Eddy,  who  had  made  himself  bail  man  for 
a  long  list  of  creditors  at  the  instigation  of  Green- 
leaf,  as  Mr.  Morris  believed,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
pushing  him  to  the  wall,  sent  a  summons  in  which  it 
was  assumed  that  he  would  surrender  himself  at  once. 


AFTER   SUNSET  347 

Greenleaf  had  already  found  his  way  to  a  prison  cell,  but 
Mr.  Morris  hoped  that  his  recreant  partner  might  be  in 
some  other  enclosure.  "I  do  not  want  to  be  under  the 
same  roof  with  such  a  scoundrel,"  he  wrote  to  Nicholson, 
who  was  still  for  the  nonce  out  of  doors.  An  anecdote 
about  Cudjo  and  his  master  came  to  Morris's  witty  mind. 
The  owner  had  proposed  to  the  slave  that  they  should 
be  buried  side  by  side.  To  this  proposition  the  slave 
offered  protest,  "No,  massa,  no."  "Why  not,  Cudjo?" 
asked  his  master.  "Maybe,  massa,  when  de  debil  come 
for  you,  he  mistake  and  take  Cudjo." 

As  a  child  looks  to  its  father,  so  this  father  now  looked 
to  his  sons.  "My  sons  will  not  hear  of  my  going  to 
prison,"  he  writes.  They  had  a  plan  for  extricating  him. 
But  what  could  they  do?  It  was  not  more  than  testi 
mony  of  the  love  they  bore  him  and  a  desire  to  save 
him  if  they  could.  "  I  hope  you  may  never  experience 
the  plagues  and  troubles  that  I  have,"  he  said  to  Thomas. 
"  Keep  yourself  within  bounds.  You  will  grow  rich  fast 
enough,  and  enjoy  yourself  much  more  than  if  you  over 
strain  as  I  have  done.  God  bless  you,  my  dear  Tom." 

It  was  near  the  end,  they  all  knew,  when  Mrs.  Morris 
tearfully  read  this  letter:  "I  am  sorry,  my  dear  Molly, 
to  tell  you  that  George  Eddy's  friends  are  pursuing 
measures  to  force  a  surrender  of  myself.  How  this  may 
end  I  cannot  tell,  but  as  I  am  in  danger,  I  apprise  you 
of  it,  that  you  may  be  prepared  to  act  with  that  fortitude 
which  your  good  sense  will  enable  you  to  see  is  proper 
in  every  event.  Your  ever  affectionate  R.  M." 


348  ROBERT   MORRIS 

The  bankrupt  still  mused  each  evening  before  the  fire 
in  his  Diary.  Hope  could  now  cheer  him  no  more. 
Words  have  seldom  been  penned  so  truly  eloquent  of 
sorrow  and  discouragement  as  these :  "  My  money  is  gone ; 
my  furniture  is  to  be  sold ;  I  am  to  go  to  prison  and  my 
family  to  starve.  Good  night." 

The  sheriff  arrived  at  "  The  Hills  "  on  the  evening  of 
February  14.  Eddy  desired  that  his  victim  should  be  taken 
to  Prune  Street  at  once,  but  he  was  allowed  to  remain 
at  home  under  guard  until  the  next  day.  "  I  am  here  in 
custody  of  a  sheriff's  officer  in  my  own  house,"  Mr.  Morris 
wrote  to  Nicholson,  while  the  humiliation  was  fresh  upon 
him.  "  Eddy  is  the  most  hardened  villain  God  ever  made. 
He  was  positively  determined  to  carry  me  to  Prune  Street 
last  night,  but  the  sheriff  humanely  relieved  me  from  his 
rascally  clutches."  But  no  objection  or  resistance  could 
now  be  of  any  avail.  He  was  conveyed  to  prison. 
Nearly  everything  he  owned  had  been  seized.  Few 
spectacles  are  more  pathetic  than  Robert  Morris,  as  he 
made  a  catalogue  of  his  remaining  possessions  on  earth, 
down  to  the  last  piece  of  bedding,  his  clothing,  the  wine, 
sugar,  and  coffee  in  his  pantry,  an  old  chariot  consigned 
to  the  care  of  a  friend  in  Richmond,  and  "  an  old,  worn-out 
gold  watch  that  was  my  father's.  He  died  in  1751," 
Mr.  Morris  noted,  "I  have  had  it  ever  since,  and  do  not 
want  to  part  with  it  even  now  if  I  can  avoid  it." 

The  sudden  acquisition  of  another  prisoner  at  Prune 
Street  seemed  to  put  the  inmates  already  there,  as  well  as 
the  newcomer,  to  much  inconvenience.  No  room  was  pre- 


AFTER   SUNSET  349 

pared  for  Mr.  Morris,  although  his  sons  offered  a  high  rent 
for  one.  Confinement  was  very  uncomfortable  and  dis 
agreeable  because  he  must  occupy  the  apartments  of  other 
prisoners.  Later,  however,  he  was  made  as  much  at  home 
as  circumstances  would  permit.  He  secured  possession  of 
a  cell  on  February  26,  and  to  it  he  removed  a  writing-desk, 
some  books  containing  his  accounts,  his  letter  books  in 
which  he  for  a  time  continued  to  make  entries,  his  letter 
cases,  copying-press,  maps,  a  bedstead  and  bedding,  a  set 
tee,  chairs,  and  looking-glasses. 

His  sense  of  humor  still  served  him  in  good  stead ;  it 
was  unfailing  in  every  situation.  He  wrote  to  Nicholson 
who  was  still  at  large,  although  he  arrived  in  a  little  while 
to  share  Morris's  experiences  and  to  publish  a  newspaper, 
a  pursuit  which  helped  to  pass  the  tedious  days  of  penance 
for  both  men,  "  This  place  ought  to  be  avoided  by  all  that 
can  possibly  keep  out  of  it,  and  I  hope  to  God  that  you 
may  succeed,  but  I  doubt  it." 

In  May  he  invited  Nicholson  to  dine  at  the  "  hotel  with 
grated  doors,"  assuring  him  that  nothing  could  act  as  a 
detainer  except  a  bail-piece  which  had  brought  Morris  to 
ruin.  "  We  will  show  you  how  we  live  here,"  he  says, 
"  that  you  may  be  prepared  to  bear  your  fate  should  it  be 
decided  that  you  are  to  become  a  boarder  at  this  hotel." 
"  The  inconvenience  of  my  present  situation,"  he  observed 
another  time,  "does  not  admit  of  my  usual  attention  to 
business." 

But  he  could  be  philosophic  as  well  as  humorous.  In 
announcing  his  fate  to  his  son  Thomas,  he  wrote  :  "  It  is,  to 


350  ROBERT   MORRIS 

be  sure,  an  unpleasant,  an  unfortunate,  and,  I  may  add,  an 
unexpected  occurrence  brought  on  me  by  a  desire  to  pro 
vide  too  amply  for  a  family  whose  happiness  is  my  great 
est  enjoyment.  As  events  have  turned  up  it  becomes  a 
duty  to  submit  to  fate,  to  meet  the  bad  as  well  as  the  good 
with  fortitude,  and  to  make  the  best  of  whatever  happens. 
Thank  God  I  can  do  all  this.  My  health  is  good,  my 
spirits  not  broke,  my  mind  sound  and  vigorous,  and  there 
fore  I  will  do  all  I  can  consistently  with  principles  of 
integrity  to  make  the  best  of  my  affairs  and  extricate 
myself  as  well  as  I  can." 

Prisoners  at  Prune  Street  in  those  days  were  allowed 
many  liberties.  They  were  permitted  to  walk  abroad 
under  certain  circumstances.  They  might  dine  in  their 
rooms  with  their  friends  and  relations  and  receive  visitors 
of  all  kinds.  Some  of  these  privileges  could  not  have  been 
very  grateful  to  debtors.  Mr.  Morris  divided  those  who 
came  to  see  him  into  two  classes,  "complimentary  visit 
ors,"  and  visitors  who  were  bent  upon  business.  His 
creditors  came  in  troops  tormenting  him  with  tales  of 
their  losses,  sufferings,  and  necessities.  All  sorts  of  appli 
cations  for  money  were  continued  by  all  conditions  of  men 
and  women  who  could  not  understand  why  Morris  would 
not  be  able,  although  in  prison,  to  relieve  their  wants. 
Most  of  his  friends  lost  greater  or  smaller  sums  by  his  fall^ 
— Alexander  Hamilton,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Bishop  White, 
Gouverneur  Morris,  and  John  Jay.  Mr.  Fitzsimmons  told 
Gouverneur  Morris  that  he  had  been  completely  ruined  by 
the  bursting  of  the  great  bubble. 


AFTER   SUNSET  351 

The  ties  of  family  and  friendship,  however,  still  held 
strongly.  General  Washington  remained  faithful  through 
out  one  of  the  severest  tests  to  which  friendship  is  sub 
jected.  "  Poor  Mrs.  Morris !  "  he  wrote  when  he  learned 
of  the  disaster,  "  I  feel  much  for  her  situation  and  earnestly 
pray  that  Mr.  Morris  may  —  and  soon  —  work  his  way 
through  all  his  difficulties  ;  in  which  I  am  persuaded  that  all 
who  know  him  heartily  join  me,  as  they  do  that  their  ease, 
quiet,  and  domestic  enjoyments  may  be  perfectly  restored." 
Late  in  1798,  when  he  came  to  Philadelphia  to  organize 
the  army  in  preparation  for  the  war  which  seemed  to  im 
pend  with  France,  he  dined  with  Mr.  Morris  in  the  prison- 
house.  "  I  am  told  this  house  is  to  be  honored  with  the 
presence  of  the  great  and  good  man  from  Mount  Vernon," 
Morris  wrote  his  friend  Nicholson  on  November  12  of  that 
year,  and  invited  his  old  partner  to  Prune  Street  to  share 
the  pleasures  of  the  visit.1  On  September  21,  1799,  the 
year  in  which  Washington  died,  while  Mrs.  Morris  with 
her  daughter  Maria  was  visiting  her  eldest  daughter,  Mrs. 
James  Marshall  in  Virginia,  she  received  the  kindliest  let 
ter  jointly  signed  by  the  General  and  Mrs.  Washington 
inviting  her  to  Mount  Vernon.  She  was  then  at  Win 
chester.  "  We  hope  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  in  this 
place,"  the  letter  ran,  "  how  happy  we  should  be  to  see 
you  and  Miss  Morris  under  our  roof  for  so  long  a  stay  as 
you  shall  find  convenient  before  you  return  to  Philadelphia, 
for  be  assured  we  ever  have  and  still  do  retain  the  most 
affectionate  regard  for  you,  Mr.  Morris,  and  the  family." 
1  Coiiarroe  Collection,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc. 


352  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Gouverneur  Morris  visited  Robert  Morris  several 
times  in  Prune  Street.  "  I  am  strongly  affected  by  the 
situation  of  my  poor  friend,"  he  writes,  "  and  he  seems 
equally  so.  Mrs.  Morris,  who  is  with  him,  puts  on  an 
air  of  firmness  which  she  cannot  support  and  was  wrong 
to  assume." 

Morris's  wife  and  daughter  Maria  were  with  him 
almost  constantly,  their  visits  being  uninterrupted  even 
while  the  malignant  fever  raged  in  the  summers  of 
1798  and  1799.  They  dined  with  him  in  his  cell  and 
passed  in  and  out  day  by  day  until  they  walked  between 
piles  of  coffins  to  reach  his  room.1  While  other  bank 
rupts  in  the  rooms  adjoining  his  were  taken  with  the 
disease,  he  knew  no  fear.  His  concern  was  solely  for  the 
safety  of  his  wife  and  children,  and  for  the  lives  of  his 
friends.  His  sympathies  went  out  to  Nicholson,  to 
the  men  whom  he  found  in  prison  brought  hither  by 
his  own  financial  collapse,  and  newer  acquaintances 
suffering  penalties  for  mistakes  and  follies  of  another 
origin.  From  the  prison,  now  become  a  pest-house,  he 
prayed  for  the  cold  winds  to  drive  out  of  the  city  a 
plague  that  baffled  all  the  physicians'  efforts  and  restore 
the  people  to  health.2 

Although  the  court,  which  had  been  appealed  to  by 
Mr.  Morris's  family  and  friends,  granted  an  order  for 
his  removal  to  the  country  when  the  danger  of  the 
situation  absolutely  required  it,  he  deemed  their  solici 
tude  unnecessary.  The  sympathy  for  the  family  with 

1  Hart,  Pa.  Mag.,  Vol.  II.  2  Dreer  Collection,  Pa.  Hist.  Soc. 


AFTER   SUNSET  353 

all  classes  of  the  people  was  universal,  even  among  those 
who  had  suffered  most  by  his  stupendous  misfortune. 
The  mechanics  of  the  city  offered  to  raise  a  sum  of 
money  if  they  could  thereby  accomplish  his  release,1  but 
it  was  a  hopeless  task.  No  man  in  public  life  enter 
tained  sentiments  that  were  more  antagonistic  to  Robert 
Morris's  than  Thomas  Jefferson,  yet  on  March  12,  1801, 
when  still  young  in  his  office  as  President  of  the 
United  States,  he  was  constructing  a  cabinet,  and  was 
looking  over  the  field  for  a  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  he 
wrote  to  James  Madison,  his  Secretary  of  State :  "  What 
a  misfortune  to  the  public  that  R.  Morris  has  fallen 
from  his  height  of  character.  If  he  could  get  from 
confinement,  and  the  public  give  him  confidence,  he 
would  be  a  most  valuable  officer  in  that  station  and  in 
our  council.  But  these  are  two  impossibilities  in  the 
way."2 

There  was  no  hope  for  Mr.  Morris's  release,  it  seemed, 
but  a  reform  of  the  bankruptcy  laws  which  then  were 
enacted  by  the  separate  states.  The  imprisonment  of 
debtors  was  universal.  Whether  with  Mr.  Morris's  case 
particularly  in  mind  or  not,  Congress  now  took  up  this 
subject  of  legislation,  and  on  April  4,  1800,  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  Prune  Street's  grim  walls,  passed  an 
act  by  which,  on  the  petition  of  his  creditors,  a  man 
could  be  adjudicated  a  bankrupt  and  thereupon  be  released 
from  prison.  ,  Morris  was  now  obliged  to  undergo  various 

1  Fisher's  "Revolutionary  Reminiscences." 

2  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 

2A 


354  ROBERT   MORRIS 

disagreeable  scenes  in  the  presence  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  District  Court  in  which  his  affairs  gained  wide 
publicity.  They  were  recalled  to  his  own  mind  to 
trouble  his  peace  and  rest,  but  on  August  26,  1801, 
after  much  formality  and  delay,  he  gained  his  freedom. 
Proof  was  brought  into  court  of  unpaid  debts  amount 
ing  to  three  millions  of  dollars !  He  had  been  held  by 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania  for  thnje_y_earsi  six  months, 
and  ten  days.  He  was  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  It  was  said  on  some  sides  that  his  assignments 
were  fictitious,  and  that  when  he  had  failed,  he  had 
transferred  much  property  to  his  sons.  Proof  of  this 
charge  is  lacking.  "  I  now  find  myself  a  free  citizen 
of  the  United  States,"  Mr.  Morris  writes,  "without 
one  cent  that  I  can  call  my  own."  On  the  day  after 
he  came  out  of  the  jail,  he  wrote  his  son  Thomas,  as 
follows :  "  As  I  know  the  contents  of  this  letter  will 
be  very  pleasing  to  you  and  your  family,  I  embrace 
the  first  opportunity  to  tell  you  that  I  obtained  my 
liberty  last  evening,  and  had  the  inexpressible  satisfac 
tion  to  find  myself  restored  to  my  own  home  and 
family.  I  have,  however,  still  to  go  through  some  dis 
agreeable  scenes  before  I  can  fairly  cast  about  for  a 
new  pursuit ;  but  after  what  I  have  sustained,  what  is 
to  come  seems  nothing." 

The  task  of  liquidating  such  debts,  at  Mr.  Morris's 
age,  was  an  entirely  hopeless  undertaking.  He  became 
a  not  very  cheerful  pensioner  upon  his  family  and  his 
friends,  a  humiliated  and  broken  man.  He  visited  his 


AFTER   SUNSET  355 

favorite  son  Thomas.  He  spent  the  summer  of  1802 
at  Morrisania  with  Gouverneur  Morris,  who  was  now 
a  United  States  Senator  from  New  York.  "He  came 
to  me  lean,  low  spirited,  and  as  poor  as  a  commission 
of  bankruptcy  can  make  a  man  whose  effects  will,  it  is 
said,  not  pay  a  shilling  on  the  pound,"  Gouverneur 
Morris  wrote  to  his  friend  James  Parrish.  "Indeed, 
the  assignees  will  not  take  the  trouble  of  looking  after 
them.  I  sent  him  home  fat,  sleek,  in  good  spirits,  and 
possessed  of  the  means  of  living  comfortably  for  the 
rest  of  his  days." 

The  title  to  nearly  four  million  acres  of  land  sold  by 
Robert  Morris  to  the  Holland  Land  Company  in  New  York 
State  had  proven  to  be  in  some  way  defective.  On  this 
occasion  Gouverneur  Morris  had  been  friendly  enough  to 
arrange  for  a  payment  of  $1500  a  year  to  Mrs.  Morris  as 
her  dower  right  so  long  as  she  lived,  for  although  she  had 
inherited  some  property  in  Maryland  from  her  father,  at 
her  expressed  wish,  these  estates  went  the  way  of  her 
husband's  in  the  effort  to  stay  the  advances  of  his  raven 
ous  creditors.  This  income  paid  her  by  the  Holland  Com 
pany  enabled  her  to  keep  up  a  small  house  on  the  east  side 
of  Twelfth  Street  between  Market  and  Chestnut  streets  in 
Philadelphia,  where  the  family  resided  until  Mr.  Morris's 
death  which  occurred  on  May  7,  1806,  not  quite  five  years 
after  his  discharge  from  prison.  He  was  buried  quietly  in 
the  family  vault  in  Christ  Churchyard. 

His  widow  survived  him  for  twenty-one  years,  removing 
later  to  a  house  on  the  south  side  of  Chestnut  Street  above 


356  ROBERT   MORRIS 

Tenth  Street.  It  was  there  that  she  received  Lafayette 
who,  when  he  came  to  Philadelphia  in  1824,  made  her  his 
first  private  visit.  After  a  separation  of  thirty-seven  years, 
he  cherished  the  fondest  memories  of  the  Morrises,  and  she, 
then  in  her  seventy-sixth  year,  tall  and  of  stately  dignity, 
was  one  of  the  distinguished  figures  at  the  grand  ball  ar 
ranged  in  the  French  Marquis's  honor  in  the  new  Chestnut 
Street  Theatre.1 

/  Mr.  Morris's  life  is  one  of  the  saddest  and  most  romantic 
Vpersonal  chapters  in  the  history  of  North  America.  Two 
years  before  his  death  he  had  written  in  his  will :  "  Here  I 
have  to  express  my  regret  at  having  lost  a  very  large  fortune 
acquired  by  honest  industry,  which  I  had  long  hoped  and 
expected  to  enjoy  with  my  family  during  my  own  life  and 
then  to  distribute  it  among  those  of  them  that  should  out 
live  me.  Fate  has  determined  otherwise,  and  we  must  sub 
mit  to  the  decree  which  J  have  endeavored  to  do  with 
patience  and  fortitude." 

The  patriot,  upon  whom  all  the  other  patriots  of  the 
Revolution  had  depended,  who  had  kept  the  Continental 
army  in  the  field  out  of  his  own  purse,  and  from  the 
abundant  store  of  his  private  credit,  had  himself  fallen 
with  pities  universally  expressed.  "I  have  owned  more 
ships  than  any  man  in  America,"  Mr.  Morris  wrote  in 
pondering  his  life.  He  had  also  owned  more  land  than 
any  man  in  America,  much  of  it-  now  covered  with  thriv 
ing  cities,  waving  fields  of  grain  and  cotton,  and  underlaid 
with  anthracite  and  bituminous  coal  and  petroleum,  but 
lHart,  Pa. -Ma?.,  Vol.  II. 


AFTER   SUNSET  357 

from  the  bitter  sequence  of  his  misfortunes,  there  was  no 
escape  once  the  misstep  had  been  taken.  The  times  were 
hostile  to  his  vast  undertakings  to  give  value  to  virgin 
wildernesses.  His  friends,  who  were  distributed  over  two 
continents,  were  powerless  to  render  him  aid.  The  pit  he 
had  dug  for  himself  was  too  deep.  Whatever  they  did 
contribute  and  could  contribute,  was  but  an  atom  that 
soon  was  lost  in  the  cavernous  gulf,  which  there  was  noth 
ing  in  the  impoverished  country,  or  in  the  cautious  and 
retrenching  banking  centres  of  Europe,  to  close  up.  He 
had  miscalculated  future  economic  conditions,  and  was  too 
sanguine  of  the  rapid  industrial  development  of  the  new 
republic,  which  he  had  done  so  much  to  create.  It  is  said 
that  he  invited  his  fate.  Perhaps  so,  but  if  he  had  suc 
ceeded,  and  he  had  a  liberal  chance  of  success,  his  business 
judgment  and  acumen  would  have  been  commended  by 
his  own  and  later  generations,  his  friends  would  have 
revered  him  for  helping  them  into  fortunes,  his  services  as 
a  patriot  would  have  secured  just  recognition  a  long  time 
since,  and  the  task  might  not  have  been  reserved  for  me, 
in  the  twentieth  century,  of  seeking  out  the  facts  which 
are  the  warp  and  woof  of  this  biography. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Account  of  Robert  Morris's  Property.     A  pamphlet,  undated. 

Adams,  Abigail,  Letters  of,  with  an  introductory  memoir  by  Charles 

Francis  Adams. 

-Adams,  John,  Works  of,  with  a  life  of  the  author  by  Charles  Francis 
Adams.     Boston,  1856. 

Application  to  Friends  for  pecuniary  relief  for  the  Southern  war. 
Collections  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  Phila 
delphia,  1853. 

Baker,  William  Spohn.  Washington  after  the  Revolution.  Phila 
delphia,  1898. 

Boogher's  Repository.     Philadelphia,  1883. 

Buell,  A.  C.  Paul  Jones,  Founder  of  the  American  Navy.  Two 
volumes.  New  York,  1900. 

Conarroe  Collection  of  Robert  Morris's  autograph  letters.  Pennsyl 
vania  Historical  Society. 

-Custis,  G.  W.  Parke,  Recollections  and  Private  Memoirs  of  Washing 
ton.     1859. 

Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  American  Revolution.  Edited  by 
Jared  Sparks.  Vols.  XI  and  XII.  Boston,  1829. 

Dreer  Collection  of  Robert  Morris's  autograph  letters.  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society. 

Fisher,  Redwood.      Revolutionary  reminiscences  connected  with  the 

life  of  Robert  Morris. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  The  works  of.     Edited  by  Jared  Sparks.    Boston, 

1836. 

Graydon,  Alexander.     Memoirs  of  his  own  time.     Philadelphia,  1846. 

359 


360  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  Works   of.      Edited   by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 

Nine  volumes.     New  York,  1885-1886. 
Hart,  Charles  Henry.     Robert  Morris,  the  Financier  of  the  American 

Revolution.     Pennsylvania  Magazine,  Vol.  I. 

Mary  White — Mrs.   Robert  Morris.      Pennsylvania  Magazine, 

Vol.  II. 

Materials  in  Boogher's  Repository,  Vol.  I. 

Homes,  H.  A.  Description  and  analysis  of  the  remarkable  collection 
of  unpublished  manuscripts  of  Robert  Morris.  Albany,  1876. 

Jay,  John,  Correspondence  and  Public  Papers  of,  1763-1826.      Four 

volumes.     New  York,  1890-1893. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  Writings  of.     New  York,  1853-1854. 

Laurens,  Henry,  Correspondence  of.     New  York,  1861. 

Letters  to  John  Hancock  in  1776.     Bulletin  of  the  Historical  Society 

of  Pennsylvania.     Philadelphia,  1848. 
Letters  to  Robert  Morris,  1775-1782.     Collections  of  the  New  York 

Historical  Society  for  1878. 
Lewis,   Lawrence,   Jr.      A  history  of  the  Bank  of  North   America. 

Philadelphia,  1882. 
Life  of  Robert  Morris,  the  great  Financier,  with  an  engraving  and 

description  of  the  celebrated  house.     Philadelphia,  1841. 

Maclay,  William,  Journal  of.   Edited  by  E.  S.  Maclay.   New  York,  1890. 

Madison,  James,  Papers  of.  Being  his  correspondence  and  report  of 
debates  in  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  and  the  Federal 
Convention.  Edited  by  Henry  D.  Gilpin.  Three  Volumes. 
New  York,  1841. 

Marshall,  Christopher,  Extracts  from  the  diary  of.  Kept  at  Phila 
delphia,  1774-1781.  Edited  by  William  Duane.  Albany,  1877. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  The  diary  and  letters  of.  Edited  by  Anne  Gary 
Morris.  New  York,  1888. 

Morris,  Robert,  Manuscript  diary  of,  1781-1784.  Three  volumes.  Con 
gressional  Library,  Washington. 

Official  letter-books,  1781-1784.    Seven  volumes.    Congressional 

Library,  Washington. 

Private  letter-books,  1795-1798.    Three  volumes.    Congressional 

Library,  Washington. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  361 

Nourse,  Michael.  Robert  Morris  the  Financier.  Bankers'  Magazine. 
Vol.  IX,  1860. 

Oberholtzer,  Ellis  Paxson.  The  referendum  in  America.  New  York, 
1900. 

Pennsylvania  Magazine.  Published  by  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania.  Many  references  to  Robert  Morris,  reprints  of 
manuscript  correspondence,  etc. 

Plan  of  association  of  the  Asylum  Company.     Philadelphia,  1795. 

Plan  of  association  of  the  North  American  Land  Company.  Phila 
delphia,  1795. 

Plan  of  association  of  the  Pennsylvania  Property  Company.  Phila 
delphia,  1797. 

Reed,  Joseph.  Life  and  correspondence  of.  Edited  by  William  B. 
Reed.  Philadelphia,  1847. 

Statement  of  the  accounts  of  the  United  States  of  America  during  the 
administration  of  the  Superintendent  of  Finance,  February  20, 
1781-Novernber  1,  1784.  Philadelphia,  1785. 

Sumner,  W.  G.  The  Financier  and  the  finances  of  the  American 
Revolution.  Two  volumes.  New  York,  1891. 

Turner,  0.  History  of  the  Holland  Purchase  of  Western  New  York. 
Buffalo,  1849. 

History  of  the  Pioneer  Settlement  of    Phelps  and   Gorham's 

Purchase  and  Morris's  Reserve.     Rochester,  1851. 

Wain.  Robert,  Jr.      Life  of  Robert  Morris.     Vol.  V  in  Sanderson's 

*  Lives   of  the   Signers  of    the   Declaration   of  Independence. 
Philadelphia,  1823. 

Washington,  George,  Writings  of.  Edited  by  Jared  Sparks.  Boston, 
1834-1838. 

White  Family  Record,  by  T.  H.  Montgomery  and  others.  Phila 
delphia,  1879. 

Wiltbank,  W.  W.  Colonel  Thomas  White  of  Maryland.  Pennsylvania 
Magazine,  Vol.  I. 


INDEX 


Adams,  Abigail,  her  experiences  in 
the  White  House,  310. 

Adams,  John,  drafts  on,  162,  163, 
165 ;  penalties  suffered  by,  222  ; 
elected  Vice-President,  230  ;  as  a 
presiding  officer  in  the  Seriate,  235. 

Agency  of  Marine,  location  of,  77  ; 
Morris  appointed  to,  90-92. 

Allen,  James,  observations  on  Penn 
sylvania  government,  39,  40. 

Alliance,  fitted  out  for  sea,  92  ;  sent 
to  Cuba,  169. 

America,  slow  construction  of,  93; 
sale  of,  proposed,  94;  presented  to 
France,  95. 

American  Philosophical  Society,  its 
interest  in  China,  223. 

Armstrong,  Major  J.,  his  letter  re 
garding  Morris,  70. 

Army,  its  disbandment,  201. 

Articles  of  Confederation,  adoption 
of,  47,  63  ;  weakness  of,  33  ;  rati 
fied  and  in  force,  114  ;  provi 
sions  of,  regarding  the  public 
debt,  192. 

s  Assumption  of  State  debts,  Hamil 
ton's  scheme  for,  238. 

Asylum  Company,  organization  of, 
312,  317. 

Audibert,  Philip,  services  in  connec 
tion  with  French  loan,  88. 

Bache,  Benjamin  Franklin,  264. 
^Baily,    Francis,    his   description   of 

Washington  City,  308. 
Baltimore,  Congress  in,  19,  24,  272  ; 
its    unpopularity   with    congress 


men,  37  ;  asked  to  provide  boats 
to  carry  troops  to  Yorktown,  84; 
financial  stringency  in,  326. 

Bank  of  England,  suspends  specie 
payments,  300,  328. 

Bank  of  North  America,  first  steps 
in  founding,  73  ;  need  of,  96  ;  plans 
for  its  organization,  97  ;  appeal 
for  subscriptions  to  stock,  98 ; 
specie  from  France  to  found,  107  ; 
first  operations  of,  108,  109 ;  suc 
cess  of,  110  ;  notes  issued  by,  156  ; 
calls  in  its  loans,  157  ;  loss  of  its 
Pennsylvania  charter,  224 ;  suit 
against  Robert  Morris,  331. 

Bank  of  Pennsylvania,  73. 

Bankruptcy  Laws,  reform  of,  354. 

Barclay,  John,  trustee  of  North 
American  Land  Company,  319. 

Barclay,  Thomas,  Commissioner  in 
Europe,  162,  170,  204. 

Barry,  John,  in  command  of  Alli 
ance  and  Deane,  92  ;  sent  to  Cuba, 
169;  presented  with  Jones's  sword, 
283. 

Bimetallism,  Morris's  views  on,  153. 

Bingbam,  William,  108,  283. 

Bland,  Mr.,  his  disparagement  of 
Morris's  financial  administration, 
199. 

Board  of  Treasury,  its  appointment, 
209. 

Board  of  War,  104. 

Boston,  arrival  of  specie  in,  103  sfq. 

Bradford,  John,  90,  92. 

Broglie.  Prince  de,  his  visit  to  Amer 
ica,  272. 


363 


364 


INDEX 


Brown,  John,  his  naval  accounts,  91 ; 
his  mission  to  Cuba,  170. 

Cadiz,  banking  through,  162,  169. 

Cadwalader,  General,  55. 

Cadwalader,    Miss,  Morris's  polite 

note  to,  330. 

—  Capital,  National,  choice  of  site  of, 
258. 

Carey,  James,  his  testimony  regard 
ing  financial  stringency  in,  326. 

"  Centinel,"  his  attack  on  Morris, 
255. 

Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  82,  272. 

China,  seeking  trade  in,  223  ;  first 
out  of  season  voyage  to,  224. 

Circulars  to  states,  116,  121  seq. 

Clymer,  George,  25,  283  ;  on  com 
mittee  to  consider  Morris's  famous 
circular  to  the  states,  129 ;  mem 
ber  of  Constitutional  Convention, 
226. 

Colbert,  Comte  de,  his  interest  in 
D'Estaing's  estate,  307. 

Commissioners  appointed  to  adjust 
state  accounts,  204  ;  called  upon 
for  economic  reports,  204. 

Connecticut,  quota  of,  131  ;  derelic 
tion  of,  135,  147,  148. 

Constable,  William,  Morris's  agent 
in  London,  308. 

Constitutional  Convention  desired 
by  Morris,  226  ;  meeting  of,  226, 
264  ;  Washington  in,  274. 

Continental  Congress,  flight  of  to 
Baltimore,  25 ;  weakness  of,  33, 
47,  114,  184  ;  return  to  Philadel 
phia,  36-38  ;  departure  to  Lan 
caster  and  York,  38;  relieved 
of  duties  by  Superintendent  of 
Finance,  71  ;  considers  Morris's 
famous  circular,  129 ;  Morris's 
resignation  considered,  194  seq. ; 
resolution  regarding  mint,  154  ; 
flight  to  Princeton,  182  ;  appoints 
a  Treasury  Board,  290. 


Contract  system  for  supplying  the 
army,  117. 

Cornell,  Ezekiel,  251. 

Cornplanter,  Morris's  princely  en 
tertainment  of,  304. 

Cornwallis,  movement  against,  80  ; 
surrender  of,  112. 

Counterfeiting,  dangers  of,  153,  156. 

Creditors,  public,  persistency  of, 
171  ;  responsibility  to,  183  ;  im 
patience  of,  190;  recommenda 
tions  to,  191. 

Cuba,  efforts  to  secure  money  from, 
99,  169,  170. 

Cunliffe,  tobacco  house  of,  2,  3. 

Currency,  Morris's  report  on,  151. 

Custis,  G.  W.  P.,  goes  to  New  York, 
233  ;  his  friendship  for  Mr.  Morris, 
339. 

Dale,  Richard,  Commodore,  capture 
of,  102  ;  sword  presented  to,  283. 

Dale,  Richard,  Esq.,  283. 

Deane,  his  criticisms  of  Thomas  Mor 
ris,  45 ;  controversy  with  Lee,  52  ; 
his  description  of  Philadelphia,  56. 

Debts,  public,  funding  of,  183,  184, 
195;  size  of,  188,  204. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  Mor 
ris's  advice  against,  17,  19,  20 ; 
signing  of,  21. 

De  Grasse,  arrival  of  his  fleet,  82, 
87  ;  pilot  for,  86. 

Delaney,  Sharp,  330. 

Delaware,  asked  to  aid  in  Yorktown 
campaign,  83,  84  ;  quotas  of,  131  ; 
impost  law  in,  185  ;  loan  to  Gov 
ernor  of,  216. 

Democracy,  extremes  of,  in  Amer 
ica,  19. 

D'Estaing,  Georgia  lands  of,  307. 

Diary,  Morris's,  its  historical  value, 
vi,  vii ;  its  humor  and  literary 
value,  287. 

Dickinson,  John,  his  opposition  to 
Declaration  of  Independence,  19  ; 


INDEX 


365 


opposed  to  first  constitution  of 
Pennsylvania,  24  ;  money  loaned 
to,  216. 

District  of  Columbia,  Morris's  in 
vestments  in,  308. 

Dobbs  Ferry,  Washington's  camp 
at,  78. 

Drafts  on  states,  63  ;  on  France, 
03,  158  seq. 

Due  de  Lauzun,  voyage  to  Cuba, 
and  sale  of,  170. 

Dudley,  Benjamin,  his  plans  for  a 
mint,  154. 

Eddy,  George,  his  pursuit  of  Morris, 

345,  347,  348. 
Elizabethtown     Point,      President 

Washington's  arrival  at,  232. 
Embargoes,  laws  to  create,  50,  51  ; 

Morris's  unalterable  opposition  to, 

137. 
Empress  of  China,  her  voyage  to 

China,  223. 

Engrossment,  laws  to  prevent,  49. 
Estimates  for  1782,  120,  124. 

Fauchet,  his  allegations  regarding 
Morris's  Georgia  lands,  332. 

Federalism,  Morris's  advocacy  of, 
184,  209,  219,  220,  228  ;  penalties 
of,  222. 

Federal  party,  end  of,  222,  241. 

Fitzsimmons,  Thomas,  director  of 
bank,  108,  158  ;  fits  out  ship,  170  ; 
advises  flight  to  Princeton,  182  ; 
member  of  Constitutional  Conven 
tion,  226  ;  his  friendship  for  Mor 
ris,  283;  his  losses  by  Morris's 
fall,  350. 

France,  drafts  on,  63,  75,  158 ; 
America  presented  to,  95  ;  specie 
imported  from,  by  way  of  Boston, 
102  seq. ;  her  refusal  to  pay  inter 
est  on  old  loans,  115,  184  ;  Ameri 
can  army  clothed  and  fed  by,  128  ; 
her  loans  to  the  United  States,  159, 


161 ;  generosity  of  king  appealed  to, 
159  ;  American  financial  methods 
criticised,  165 ;  democratic  ideas 
in,  218  ;  mistakes  committed  by 
her  minister,  Genet,  240. 

Francis,  Tench,  his  treasure  train, 
104  seq.  ;  cashier  of  Bank  of  North 
America,  108 ;  purchases  for  the 
Indians,  305. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  president  of 
committee  of  safety,  17  ;  his  pay 
ment  of  drafts,  63  ;  asked  to  name 
banker  in  Paris,  75  ;  audience  re 
fused  him  at  Versailles,  159;  urged 
to  look  after  public  bills,  162 ;  effect 
of  flattery  on,  219 ;  member  of 
Constitutional  Convention,  226, 
227  ;  sons  commended  to,  264. 

Franklin,  William  Temple,  land 
agent  for  Morris,  302. 

Freeman's  Journal,  its  attacks  on 
Morris,  252. 

Free  trade,  Morris  favors,  137. 

French  Revolution,  stringency 
caused  by,  300. 

Frey,  Baron  de,  refused  money  at 
office  of  Finance,  180. 

Gates,  General,  22,  71,  272. 

Galloway,  Joseph,  his  mansion  pur 
chased  by  Morris,  276. 

Genesee,  Morris's  investments  in  the, 
302  ;  his  desire  to  settle  there,  346. 

Genet,  his  activities  in  America,  240. 

Georgetown,  hotels  at,  310. 

Georgia,  quota  of,  131  ;  value  of 
money  in,  152  ;  Morris's  lands  in, 
307,  313,  329,  331,  332. 

Gorham  and  Phelps,  Morris's  pur 
chases  from,  302. 

Grand,  M.,  banker  in  Paris,  161, 169. 

Greene,  General,  letters  to  and  from, 
70,  89, 197,  221,  243;  distress  of  his 
troops,  140,  168,  245  ;  his  commis 
sioner  in  Philadelphia,  181 ;  activ 
ity  of  his  partisans,  248  ;  his  drafts 


366 


INDEX 


on  Morris,  248 ;  guest  at  Morris's 
home,  272. 

Greenleaf,  James,  his  house  surren 
dered  to  Morris,  295 ;  partnership 
with,  301,  317  ;  dishonesty  of,  323, 
324 ;  in  prison,  325,  347. 

Greenway,  Robert.  Morris's  guar 
dian,  3,  6. 

Hall,  George  Abbott,  his  commercial 
transactions  in  the  Carolinas,  167  ; 
Greene's  guardian  angel,  249. 

Hall,  Mrs.,  Mrs.  Morris's  visit  to, 
261,  293. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  his  desire  for 
single  heads  of  executive  depart 
ments,  65  ;  recommended  for  Su 
perintendent  of  Finance,  66  ;  his 
congratulations  sent  to  Morris,  71 ; 
his  plans  for  a  bank,  73  ;  advised 
concerning  marine  agency,  91  ;  re 
ceiver  of  taxes  in  New  York,  143 ; 
on  committee  which  advised  flight 
to  Princeton,  182  ;  explains  Mor 
ris's  resignation  to  Washington, 
198  ;  "  panegyric  "  of  Morris  in 
Congress,  199  ;  urged  Morris  to 
remain  in  office,  200  ;  advised  re 
garding  need  of  a  stronger  gov 
ernment,  222 ;  recommended  as 
first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  237; 
his  interest  in  the  tariff  question, 
238  ;  his  part  in  fixing  the  capital, 
238  ;  his  assumption  scheme,  238 ; 
accused  of  corruption,  240 ;  his 
influence  over  Washington,  241  ; 
Morris's  friendship  for,  272,  282  ; 
informed  of  Morris's  financial 
troubles,  326 ;  his  losses  by  Mor 
ris's  fall,  350. 

Hancock,  John,  President  of  Con 
gress,  14,  36,  37,  272  ;  resignation, 
42 ;  in  Boston,  104 ;  Morris's 
friendship  for,  272,  273. 

Harrisburg,  the  Senator  for,  229, 234. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  37,  282. 


Harrison,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  282,  327, 
341 ;  his  losses  by  Morris's  fall, 
350. 

Harrison,  George,  342. 

Head  of  Elk,  base  of  supplies  at,  83. 

Heath,  General,  104. 

Hillegas,  Mr.,  receives  French  spe 
cie,  107. 

44  Hills,  The,"  guests  at,  271 ;  Jay's 
love  for,  281,  282  ;  improvements 
at,  291 ;  beauties  of,  292 ;  laid 
waste  by  British,  294 ;  included 
in  Pennsylvania  Property  Co., 
336;  Morris's  siege  at,  338  seq. ; 
his  appeal  to  the  sheriff  to  spare, 
343. 

Holker,  Consul  General  of  France,  55. 

Holland,  aid  sought  in,  160  ;  loan  ar 
ranged,  163  ;  protest  of  bills  in, 
164  ;  acknowledgment  of  Ameri 
can  independence  by,  284  ;  Green- 
leaf's  loan  in,  317,  323. 

Holland  Company,  sale  of  lands  to, 
303 ;  its  representation  at  Indian 
council,  306 ;  grants  annuity  to 
Mrs.  Morris,  355. 

Holland  Reserve,  303. 

Hoops,  Adam,  sent  to  explore  Gen- 
esee  country,  302. 

Hopkinson,  Francis,  155. 

Howe,  General,  his  activity  in  New 
Jersey,  24,  28. 

Hughes,  John,  Stamp  agent,  10,  12. 

Humphreys,  Charles,  19. 

Huntington,  Samuel,  informs  Morris 
of  his  election  as  Superintendent 
of  Finance,  67. 

Impost  Law,  185,  189. 

Indians,  treaty  with,  265,  303  seq. 

Indigo,  trains  sent  to  South  Carolina 
for,  167. 

Ingersoll,  Jared,  member  of  Consti 
tutional  Convention,  226 ;  trustee 
of  North  American  Land  Com 
pany,  321. 


INDEX 


367 


Izard,  his  criticism  of  Thomas  Mor 
ris,  45. 

Jackson,  General,  308. 

Jay,  John,  President  of  Congress, 
53  ;  Morris's  effort  to  get  money 
through,  99  ;  his  vain  endeavors 
at  Madrid,  160 ;  urged  to  look 
after  public  bills,  102  ;  asked  to 
buy  ships  and  salt,  168 ;  urges 
Morris  to  continue  in  Office  of 
Finance,  208;  informed  of  Morris's 
shipping  ventures,  223 ;  Morris's 
sons  put  in  care  of,  263 ;  his  inti 
macy  with  Morris,  272,  280,  281 ; 
on  balloons,  287. 

Jay,  Mrs.,  263,  264,  281. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  advised  about 
public  salaries,  216 ;  his  democ 
racy,  234;  his  accusations  against 
Hamilton  and  Morris,  240 ;  friendly 
relations  between  him  and  Morris, 
268,  272,  282  ;  his  desire  to  make 
Morris  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  353. 

Jenifer,  Daniel,  advised  about  the 
system  of  specific  supplies,  120. 

Jones,  John  Paul,  his  work  on  the 
America,  94  ;  his  love  of  Morris, 
282 ;  presents  sword  to  Morris, 
283  ;  Morris  his  executor,  282. 

Kentucky,  Morris's  lands  in,  313. 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  at  Yorktown, 
88;  the  guest  of  Morris,  272  ;  con 
ferences  with,  274 ;  his  second 
visit,  356. 

Lancaster,  Congress  at,  38  ;  Penn 
sylvania  Assembly  at,  42. 

Land,  speculations  in,  301  seq. 

Laurens,  Henry,  53,  102. 

Law,  Thomas,  266. 

Lead,  difficulty  of  procuring,  57. 

Lee,  Arthur,  his  controversy  with 
Deane,  52;  his  disparagement  of 
Morris's  administration,  199;  in 


Congress,  230,  244  ;  his  dogging 
pursuit  of  Morris,  247. 

Lee,  Kichard  Henry,  19,  230. 

L'Enfant,  architect  of  Morris's  mar 
ble  house,  297,317. 

Levees,  Washington's,  277. 

Lincoln,  General,  money  for  his 
troops,  85  ;  creditors  sent  to,  179, 
181. 

Livingston,  Kitty,  263. 

Loan  Offices,  establishment  of,  64 ; 
commissioners  of,  140 ;  abolition 
of,  141 ;  Morris's  objections  to, 
143. 

Lottery,  establishment  of,  64. 

Louisiana,  Morris's  indigo  planta 
tion  in,  299. 

Lowrey,  Thomas,  flour  secured 
through,  74. 

"  Lucius,"  his  attack  on  Morris,  252. 

Luzerne,  Minister,  Morris's  friend 
liness  with,  86,  272  ;  apologies  to, 
112  ;  his  demand  for  explanations, 
161. 

Maclay,  William,  elected  senator 
from  Pennsylvania,  229  ;  his  nar 
row  views,  234;  his  diary,  235, 
257,  274;  his  opinion  of  Mrs. 
Morris,  277. 

Madison,  James,  doubts  constitu 
tionality  of  bank,  74  ;  on  army 
contracts,  118  ;  member  of  com 
mittee  to  consider  Morris's  circu 
lar  to  the  states,  129 ;  on  Morris's 
resignation,  199 ;  at  office  of 
Finance,  247  ;  his  defence  of 
Morris,  247. 

Manheim,  Morris  at,  273,  293. 

Marine  agency,  77,  90,  91,  92;  in 
spection  of  its  accounts,  247. 

Marshall,  Christopher,  at  shipyards, 
27. 

Marshall,  Hetty,  263;  marriage, 
266,  267  ;  return  from  Europe, 
338  ;  in  Virginia,  351. 


368 


INDEX 


Marshall,  James,  marriage,  266  ;  in 
Europe,  267,  269,  321,  334  ;  re 
turn  to  America,  338. 

Maryland,  approval  of  Articles  of 
Confederation,  63  ;  asked  for  aid 
in  Yorktown  campaign,  83,  84 ; 
specific  supplies  in,  120 ;  quota 
of,  131  ;  apologies  from,  133 ; 
impost  laws  in,  185,  186. 

Massachusetts,  quota  of,  131  ;  dere 
liction  of,  148,  149 ;  impost  law  in, 
185,  186  :  sends  commissioner  to 
New  York  Indian  Council;  305. 

Mennonites  invited  to  settle  in 
Genesee,  303. 

Mifflin,  Thomas,  his  friendship  for 
Morris,  54,  58. 

Military  collections,  threat  of,  134. 

Mint,  proposition  to  establish,  153  ; 
machinery  for,  154  ;  failure  of  the 
plan,  155. 

Monroe,  James,  minister  to  France, 
269. 

Morris,  Charles,  263  ;  education  of, 
268  ;  his  dissipations,  270,  332. 

Morris's  "Folly,"  297,317,331,  343. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  appointed  as 
sistant  in  Office  of  Finance,  77  ;  in 
charge  of  the  office,  78 ;  his  assist 
ance  in  negotiating  the  French 
loan,  87  ;  his  flight  to  Princeton, 
182 ;  member  of  Constitutional 
Convention,  226  ;  abroad,  268, 
280,  308  ;  at  Valley  Forge  with 
Washington,  275  ;  his  friendship 
for  Robert  Morris,  272,  279; 
escape  from  land  failures,  300 ; 
in  Prune  Street,  352  ;  his  report 
on  Robert  Morris's  tangled  affairs, 
355 ;  secures  annuity  for  Mrs. 
Morris,  355. 

Morris,  Henry,  263,  268. 

Morris,  Mary,  Mrs.,  marriage,  14, 
261 ;  visit  in  Maryland,  35,  261  ; 
receives  Mrs.  Washington,  233, 
275  ;  at  Springetsbury,  273 ;  Ma- 


clay's  opinion  of,  277  ;  visit  to 
Mount  Vernon,  278,  351  ;  in 
formed  of  her  husband's  im 
prisonment,  347  ;  visits  to  Prune 
Street,  353 ;  her  annuity  from 
Holland  Land  Company,  355 ; 
receives  Lafayette,  356. 

Morris,  Robert,  Sr.,  emigration  to 
America,  2  ;  his  death,  4,  5,  6  ; 
his  will,  7,  8. 

Morris,  Robert,  Financier  of  the 
Revolution,  his  arrival  in  Amer 
ica,  I  seq. ;  his  education,  3 ; 
his  partnership  with  Thomas 
Willing,  4 ;  his  attitude  toward 
the  Stamp  Act,  9 ;  marriage,  13, 
261 ;  elected  to  Congress,  18 ; 
opposition  to  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  19  ;  opposed  to  Con 
stitution  of  Pennsylvania,  23 
seq. ;  in  charge  of  public  affairs 
in  Philadelphia,  24  seq. ;  sends 
money  to  Washington  at  Tren 
ton,  31 ;  offered  presidency  of 
Congress,  42  ;  accused  of  engross 
ment,  49  ;  retirement  from  Con 
gress,  51  ;  attack  on  his  financial 
methods,  62  ;  investigation  of  his 
accounts,  63,  247,  258 ;  his  ac 
tivity  in  the  Pennsylvania  legis 
lature,  58  ;  elected  Superintendent 
of  Finance,  67  ;  congratulated  on 
acceptance  of  office,  71  ;  his  in 
terest  in  a  bank.  73,  96  seq.,  107, 
seq. ;  procures  flour  for  the  army, 
74  ;  his  visit  to  camp,  78  ;  his 
efforts  to  place  Washington  before 
Yorktown,  81  seq.  ;  secures  loan 
from  Rochambeau,  86  seq. ;  ap 
pointed  Agent  of  Marine,  90 ; 
efforts  to  import  specie  from 
Cuba,  99  seq..  169  ;  organizes  the 
Francis  treasure  train,  102  seq. ; 
preaching  to  the  states,  114  seq. ; 
abolishes  system  of  specific  sup 
plies,  116  seq. ;  his  small  tax 


INDEX 


369 


collections,  125,  130,  131;  his 
suppressed  circular,  126  seq. ;  ap 
pointment  of  receivers,  141  seq. ; 
his  report  on  the  currency,  151 
seq. ;  his  plans  for  a  mint,  153 ; 
issues  his  own  notes,  155  ;  secures 
fresh  loans  in  France,  159  seq. ; 
opens  loan  in  Holland,  163 ;  ex 
plains  his  financial  irregularities, 

165  ;  his  commercial  transactions, 

166  seq. ;  his  patient  hearing  of 
public  creditors,  171  seq. ;  flight 
to  Princeton,  182  ;  efforts  to  fund 
the  debt,  183,  206  seq. ;  efforts  to 
collect  the  impost,  184   seq. ;  his 
resignation,     192    seq. ;    resigna 
tion  reconsidered,  201  ;   notes  to 
pay  the   soldiers,   201    seq. ;    his 
call    for    statistics,    204 ;    second 
resignation,    209 ;     farewell     ad 
dress,  210 ;   his   Federal    sympa 
thies,  219 ;    his    interest    in   the 
China    trade,    224 ;    member    of 
the    Constitutional     Convention, 
226  ;  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  229  ;  reception  of  Presi 
dent      Washington,      231     seq. ; 
adopting   a  tariff  law,  238  seq.  ; 
his    influence    in    Washington's 
government,      240 ;       retirement 
from    public    life,    242 ;    bearing 
toward    his  enemies,    244   seq. ; 
his      family      attachments,      262 
seq.  ;  his  warm  friendships,  272 
seq.  ;  his  charities,  285  ;  his  liter 
ary  style  and  wit,   286  seq.  ;  his 
country    home,     291    seq. ;    city 
homes,  294  ;    other   homes,    295  ; 
marble  palace,  297  ;  his  land  spec 
ulations,  300    seq.  ;    investments 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  308  ; 
setting  of  his   financial  sun,  314 
seq. ;    in    the    North    American 
Land     Company,     317 ;      losses 
through     Greenleaf ,     323 ;    rela 
tions  with  Nicholson,   333  seq. ; 

2u 


confined  at  "The  Hills,"  337 
seq.  ;  imprisonment,  348  ;  release, 
354  ;  death,  355. 

Morris,  Robert,  Jr.,  education  of, 
263,  264,  265 ;  marriage  of,  266 ; 
at  Morrisville,  296. 

Morris,  Thomas  (I),  birth  of,  7  ;  dis 
sipations  of,  44,  45. 

Morris,  Thomas  (II),  263-265;  in 
Genesee  country,  303  ;  his  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  304-307  ;  con 
solation  to  his  father,  347. 

Morris,  William  White,  263;  edu 
cation  of,  268  ;  abroad,  268,  308  ; 
his  dissipations,  269,  332  ;  death 
of,  269  ;  usefulness  to  his  father, 
338. 

Morrisania,  Robert  Morris  at,  355. 

Morrisville,  Morris's  attempt  to  lo 
cate  the  Federal  capital  at,  236 ; 
Thomas  Morris  at,  265  ;  improve 
ments  on  the  tract,  295  ;  included 
in  Pennsylvania  Property  Com 
pany,  336. 

Napoleon,  disturbances  caused  by, 
300,  315. 

New  Hampshire,  asked  for  aid  in  the 
construction  of  the  America,  94  ; 
quota  of,  131. 

New  Jersey,  British  in,  24,  25 ;  asked 
to  aid  Yorktown  campaign,  83; 
impressment  of  pasturage  in,  110, 
111  ;  taxes  from,  128;  quota  for, 
131. 

New  York  City,  proposed  assault 
on,  79 ;  bar  at  harbor  of,  82 ; 
meeting  of  first  Congress  in,  229 ; 
social  life  in,  277. 

New  York,  state,  quota  of,  131 ;  re 
ceiver  of  taxes  for,  144,  146 ;  tax 
system  in,  144 ;  impost  law  in, 
185  ;  Morris's  investments  in,  301. 

Nicholson,  Captain,  sent  to  Havana, 

100. 
1  Nicholson,  John,  Morris's  partner- 


370 


INDEX 


ship  with,  301,  312;  in  Washing, 
ton,  333,  335;  Morris's  friendli 
ness  with  him  in  adversity,  269, 
349,  352. 

Nicklin,  Philip,  and  Co.,  270. 

Nixon,  John,  trustee  of  North  Ameri 
can  Land  Company,  319,  321. 

Nixon,  Maria,  263,  352. 

Non-importation  Resolutions,  12. 

North  American  Land  Company, 
Marshall  appointed  secretary  of, 
266 ;  organization  of,  312,  317- 
319  ;  few  subscribers  to,  322. 

North  Carolina,  quota  of,  131 ;  Mor 
ris's  advice  to  the  Governor  of, 
138 ;  impost  law  in,  185 ;  Morris's 
lands  in,  313,  343. 

Notes,  Morris's,  issued  in  anticipa 
tion  of  taxes,  156  ;  their  redemp 
tion,  157 ;  to  pay  the  soldiers, 
203,  206;  their  alleged  purchase 
at  a  discount,  252. 

Office  of  Finance,  location  of,  76; 
creditors'  attack  on,  171  seq. ; 
clerks  in,  178;  business  suspended 
in,  182. 

Olney,  George,  receiver  for  Massa 
chusetts,  156,  220,  221. 

Oxford,  Maryland,  2. 

Paine,  Thomas,  his  responsibility 
for  the  first  Pennsylvania  constitu 
tion,  19,  20 ;  as  an  economist,  34  ; 
his  mean  services  to  Morris,  52,  55, 
244  ;  his  reward,  259. 

Paper  money,  evils  of,  26,  48,  50,  58  ; 
quantity  of,  60,  71 ;  to  be  burned, 
116. 

Peale,  his  portrait  of  Morris,  286. 

Penn,  John,  13,  294,  295. 

Penn,  Richard,  342. 

Penn,  Thomas,  295. 

Pennsylvania,  first  constitution  of, 
21,  23,  38-41,  51,  52,  219;  tender 
laws  in,  58,  76 ;  quota  of,  129 ;  offer 


to  supply  wheat,  132;  increase 
of  values  in,  163,  316;  appoints 
members  of  Constitutional  Con 
vention,  226 ;  its  first  senators,  228 ; 
Morris's  power  in,  225,  228;  his 
defence  of  interests  of,  239 ; 
Virginia's  attack  on,  136,  146; 
Morris's  lands  in,  312,  313. 

Pennsylvania  Property  Company, 
313,  336. 

Perpetual  motion  machine,  288. 

Peters,  Richard,  in  Board  of  "War, 
67 ;  his  visit  to  Washington's 
camp,  78,  79. 

Phelps,  Oliver,  118. 

Philadelphia,  British  occupancy  of, 
42,  262 ;  evacuation  of,  47 ;  un 
happy  state  of,  56;  filled  with 
strangers,  81 ;  price  of  flour  in, 
138  ;  selected  as  provisional  capi 
tal,  258 ;  financial  stringency  in, 
326. 

Pierce,  William,  228. 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  forwards  Paul 
Jones's  sword,  283 ;  refers  ques 
tion  of  land  values,  308. 

Pine,  Robert  Edge,  285,  286. 

Poles,  Morris's  effort  to  induce  them 
to  emigrate  to  America,  321. 

Portugal,  161. 

Price  conventions,  49,  55,  56. 

Princeton,  Congress's  flight  to,  182, 
280. 

Privateering,  16,  28,  48. 

Prizes,  tax  laid  on,  115,  184. 

"  Prune  Street,"  Morris  in,  345 
seq. 

Pulteney,  Sir  William,  lands  sold  to, 
302. 

Putnam,  General,  25. 

Quakers  in  Philadelphia,  24;  their 

loans  to  Morris,  32,  33. 
Quotas  of  states  no  longer  to  be 

paid  in  specifics,  116;  difficulties 

of  collecting,  124  seq. 


INDEX 


371 


Randolph,  Edmund,  118,  199, 
287. 

Read,  George,  228. 

Receivers,  appointment  of,  141, 142  ; 
called  spies,  146. 

Reed,  Joseph,  letter  to,  20  ;  his  let 
ter  to  General  Greene,  70 ;  his 
opinion  of  Morris,  243. 

Rendon,  Mr.,  Spanish  resident  in 
Philadelphia,  274. 

Rhode  Island,  specific  supplies  in, 
119  ;  impost  law  in,  185,  186, 187  ; 
quota  for  1782,  131  ;  offers  to  sup 
ply  blankets,  132  ;  lessons  in  logic 
for,  134. 

Rice  received  for  taxes,  168. 

Ridley,  Matthew,  agent  for  the  Uni 
ted  States  at  Baltimore,  84;  in 
Europe,  263. 

Rittenhouse,  David,  155. 

Roberdeau,  Daniel,  55. 

Rochambeau,  Morris's  visit  to  his 
headquarters,  79  ;  in  Philadelphia 
on  way  to  York  town,  82  ;  loan 
from,  86,  112  ;  congratulated  by 
Morris,  113  ;  Morris's  guest,  272. 

Ross,  John,  164,  283. 

Rush,  Benjamin,  23. 

Russell,  Thomas,  appointed  deputy 
agent  of  marine,  92. 

Russia,  unfriendly  to  the  United 
States,  160. 

Rutledge,  Governor,  129,  227. 

St.  Clair,  General,  176. 

St.  George's  Day,  17. 

Sands,  Comfort,  250. 

Savage,  his  portrait  of  Morris,  286. 

Schuyler,  General,  74,  75. 

Secretary  of  Treasury,  Hamilton 
appointed,  237. 

Secret  Committee,  accounts  of,  53, 
247,  257. 

Shepherd,  General,  Indian  Com 
missioner  for  Massachusetts,  305. 

Smith,  Isaac,  appointed  Indian  com 


missioner  by  President  Washing 
ton,  305. 

Smith,  Robert,  agent  in  Cuba,  79. 

South  Carolina,  quota  for  1782,  131  ; 
receiver  of  taxes  for,  167  ;  Morris's 
lands  in,  313. 

Spain  appealed  to  for  money,  99, 
100  ;  aid  sought  in  vain,  160. 

Specie,  imports  of,  from  France,  104; 
scarcity  of,  117. 

Specific  supplies  in  States,  62  ;  abol 
ished,  116  ;  to  be  sold,  117  ;  dis 
advantages  of  the  system,  119  ; 
still  received,  124  ;  abatement  of 
rule  regarding,  131,  139. 

Springetebury,  273,  295. 

Stamp  Act,  resistance  against  it  in 
Philadelphia,  9-13. 

States,  negligence  of,  84  ;  circulars 
to,  114  seq. ;  requisitions  on,  120, 
124 ;  tax-laws  in,  121  ;  their  ac 
counts  with  the  continent,  121  ; 
their  jealousy  of  each  other,  135  ; 
values  of  coins  in,  152  ;  their  de 
lay  in  assenting  to  the  impost  law, 
185. 

Stiegel,  Baron,  295. 

Stuart,  his  portrait  of  Morris,  286. 

Sullivan,  John,  suggests  Hamilton 
for  Superintendent  of  Finance,  66. 

Susquehanna  River  recommended  as 
a  site  for  Federal  capital,  235. 

Swanwick,  John,  notes  issued 
through,  155,  156,  214 ;  in  firm  of 
Willing  and  Morris,  315. 

Talleyrand-Perigord,  268,  272. 

Taxation,  system  of,  under  Articles 
of  Confederation,  140;  Morris's 
changes  in,  141 ;  various  meth 
ods  of,  in  States,  145  ;  new  propo 
sals  for,  189;  local  views  regarding, 
191. 

Tender  laws,  passage  of,  49,  58,  76. 

Thomson,  Charles,  his  trip  to  Vir 
ginia,  231,  275. 


372 


INDEX 


Tilghman,  Edward,  268,  314. 
Tilghman,  Tench,  78,  99,  251. 
Tillotson,  Thomas,  receiver  of  taxes 

for  New  York,  146. 
Tobacco  sold  in  Europe,  167. 
Tories,  activity  of,  44,  49. 
Trumbull,    his  portrait   of   Morris, 

286. 
Trumbull  sent  to  Havana  with  flour, 

100  ;  her  capture,  102. 
Twining,  Thomas,  his  description  of 

Washington  City,  309. 

Valley  Forge,  38,  47,  275. 

Vergennes,  Count  de,  161. 

Virginia  asked  to  aid  Yorktown 
campaign,  83,  84  ;  quota  of,  131  ; 
dereliction  of,  132  ;  attacks  on 
Pennsylvania,  136,  146  ;  tobacco 
secured  in,  140,  167  ;  objections 
to  Morris's  notes,  157  ;  Morris's 
lands  in,  313. 

Wadsworth,  Colonel,  appointed  In 
dian  commissioner,  305. 

Walton,  George,  25. 

Washington  City,  capital  fixed  at, 
258  ;  Morris's  speculations  in,  308, 
332  ;  its  appearance  in  1800,  308, 
309  ;  style  of  houses  in,  311 ;  Mor 
ris's  impressions  of,  312,  333,  334. 

Washington,  George,  at  Trenton, 
24,  30,  31 ;  money  sent  to,  30, 
32 ;  at  Valley  Forge,  46,  47,  275  ; 
his  opinion  of  Hamilton,  66 ; 
expresses  pleasure  at  Morris's 
appointment  as  Financier,  72; 
receives  flour,  74  ;  Morris  at  his 
camp,  78-80  ;  in  Philadelphia  on 
way  to  Yorktown,  81  ;  his  ina 
bility  to  subscribe  to  the  bank,  99  ; 
asks  for  secret  service  money,  111  ; 
his  opposition  to  specifics,  117  ; 
informed  of  Morris's  resignation, 
104 ;  his  opinion  of  Morris's  ac 
tion,  195  ;  seeks  reasons  for,  198  ; 


elected  President  of  Constitutional 
Convention,  227 ;  elected  Presi 
dent  of  United  States,  230 ;  tri 
umphal  journey  to  New  York,  230; 
guest  and  friend  of  Morris,  273, 
276-278,  351  ;  urges  Morris  to 
keep  out  of  land  speculations,  300  ; 
prescribes  style  of  houses  in  Wash 
ington  City,  311  ;  asks  Morris  to 
pay  Federal  Commissioners,  332  ; 
letter  of  introduction  to,  342. 

Washington,  Lady,  her  reception  in 
Philadelphia,  232  ;  arrival  in  New 
York,  233 ;  invitation  to  Mrs. 
Morris,  351. 

White,  Bishop,  13,  14,  261,  350. 

White,  Colonel  Thomas,  13. 

Willink  and  Co.,  Morris's  explana 
tions  to,  165  ;  invited  to  take  land 
company  stocks,  323  ;  Morris  as 
sures  them  of  his  integrity,  337. 

Willing,  Thomas,  Morris's  partner 
ship  with,  8  seq. ;  opposed  to  Dec 
laration  of  Independence,  19 ;  in 
Bank  of  Pennsylvania,  73 ;  first 
president  of  Bank  of  North  Amer 
ica,  108,  182,  283  ;  refuses  to  serve 
as  trustee  of  North  American  Land 
Company,  319,  321. 

Willing  and  Morris,  8,  9,  53,  215. 

Wilson,  James,  his  visit  to  Wash 
ington's  camp,  78 ;  director  of 
bank,  108  ;  on  committee  advising 
flight  to  Princeton,  182  ;  his  "  pan 
egyric"  of  Morris,  199;  urges 
Morris  to  remain  in  office,  200 ; 
member  of  Constitutional  Con 
vention,  226. 

Wines,  Morris's  imports  of,  271. 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  invited  to  "The 
Hills,"  342. 

Yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  269, 

276,  333,  340,  352. 
York,  Congress  at,  46,  273. 
Yorktown,  siege  of,  81,  89,  90,  110. 


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